Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #292638 in Books
• Published on: 2007-01-03
• Released on: 2006-04-06
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

Synopsis
This book features shocking revelations, controversial claims - it is Linda Lovelace's infamous third biography. The world's first international porn superstar makes a series of startling allegations in the most referred-to book ever written about the adult movie industry. When Linda Lovelace starred in 1972's "Deep Throat", she had already made several stag films under the auspices of partner and director Chuck Traynor. To her, "Throat" was just another 8mm porn movie. To the world, it was a symbol of sexual liberation and a groundbreaking landmark in cinema history - the first ever theatrically released flesh flick. The film and its starlet became household names. Frank Sinatra, Gregory Peck, Jack Nicholson, Warren Beatty, Truman Capote and Bob Woodward saw it on its first run. The enthusiastic Lovelace seemed an icon of a strange kind of liberation.

So, when the gleefully fellating nurse of the world's first "proper" porn movie wrote her third biography in 1980, flatly contradicting earlier claims and falling solidly in with her newfound image as a champion of women's rights and hardcore feminist, the porn world and the people who had seen "Throat" on its seemingly perpetual run through the adult cinemas of West Coast America were flabbergasted. Lovelace's claims that Traynor had coerced her into not only her role in "Deep Throat", but also her (far more hardcore and apparently just as enthusiastic) parts in his earlier underground shorts through systematic abuse, death threats and at gunpoint were met with open derision by the porn establishment and restrained glee by the puritan mainstream. Modern porn stars have gone on record to observe that the practices Lovelace claims were de rigeur for the industry she knew are non-existent: Lovelace herself further fuelled the argument by partly retracting her allegations in the admission that "Throat" revolutionised the love lives of thousands of couples, and that if this was the case, then the movie itself was "OK."

The most talked-about porn memoir of all time, and a vital component in the on-running and increasingly vitriolic porno morality debate.

Customer Reviews

A Must-Read!
I bought this book after watching a documentary on Linda Lovelace a few months ago ...

I read this book in two days and would recommend it to any female wanting to read about a strong womans life. It is quite sad & depressing but does have a happy ending (without giving too much away!). Apparently some people don't believe Linda's claims that she was forced into the porn industry by her husband, but this book is written so convincingly, I didn't doubt a word of it.

Some of it takes a stong stomache to digest, some of the things her "husband" forced her to do were unspeakably sick & cruel.
Some of it is soooo frustrating, you think why didnt she just run away from him! But this is definately a must read! I'm just trying to get my hands on the follow-up now!

Will make you think...
I first read ORDEAL quite a few years ago & the events it describes became stuck in my head.


The book focuses on the life of Linda Susan Boreman, after she becomes involved with Charles Traynor, who was responsible for her transformation into porn superstar Linda Lovelace.
Linda claimed Charles beat her, raped her, and forced her into prostitution & pornography. ORDEAL is recommended to sensitive readers; it explicitly details a horrifying catalogue of abuse, before Linda finds it in herself to g3et up & escape from Charles.


Do I believe it? Most of it I can believe. Numerous witnesses (mainly from the `Deep Throat films') have come forward to verify that Linda was regularly "beaten viciously after hours and sexually tortured her into obeying him in public".
Charles' second wife (porn star Marilyn Chambers) has also admitted to suffering emotional & physical abuse at his hands. Plus, Charles himself told a journalist that he thought nothing of slapping "his woman".
It is sadly easy to understand how a woman - having been broken down - can be lead by her controlling husband into the situations contained within this book.
I do think that details of the abuse have been exaggerated. As a sympathizer I'd say that when we look back on traumatic events they always seem worse then they were, but as a cynic I'd suggest that Linda would have wanted to embellish her book for maximum publicity and sympathy, and to destroy the reputation of her (understandably) hated first husband.
Also; Linda spent the final period of her first marriage abusing cocaine and amphetamines, surely this would have affected her memory.

My biggest skepticism is reserved for the whole "forced into pornography at gunpoint" part. Fair enough; she may just have wanted to spare her `very strict' Roman Catholic parents some embarrassment. And, honestly, what would you say if you were found to have starred in a bestiality film? Her co-star of this charming film denies Linda was forced at gunpoint.



ORDEAL is a genuinely gripping books, that will keep you thinking long after you put in down. Just don't believe every last thing in it.