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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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obscenity
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An obscene publication is defined in British law as anything that tends to deprave or corrupt, and the law covers magazines, books and videos. The issue becomes of topical importance only when there is disagreement on a question of merit. The Obscene Publications Act of 1959 introduced the concept of the 'public good' as a legitimate defence; experts could be called to argue that a publication had scientific, literary or artistic importance. Penguin was the first publisher to test the new law, publishing *Lady Chatterley's Lover in 1960 and being acquitted in the resulting prosecution on grounds of literary merit. *Fanny Hill, delightful but undeniably pornographic, failed at its first attempt in 1963 but was cleared in 1970. These two cases have made it unlikely that a work of any pretension to literary merit will be prosecuted for obscenity.
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