When the erotic novel The Story of O was first published under a pseudonym a half-century ago, it scandalized French, British, and American society alike with its explicit but beautifully written descriptions of bondage and sexual violence. The identity of its author was much speculated upon, and many were convinced that it had to be a man. It wasn’t, and the woman behind the book that revolutionized erotic literature wrote it for her lover on a dare, never intending for it to see the light of day.