"At 2400 or so pages, My Secret Life is one of the longest erotic autobiographies ever written. The author is a well-to-do English gentleman who was born about 1825. Though he remains anonymous, sometimes going by the name "Walter" in the text, some speculate that the actual author was a Mr. H. Spencer Ashbee, a famous Victorian bibliographer and collector of erotica. The 11-volume text of the author’s diary was actually printed in 1882, after 20 years of review and editing. At that time, six copies were made, three of which exist today. The work is important on many levels. From the historical standpoint, one views a glimpse into the "other" Victorian England - that which Dickens and Eliot and Hardy were obliged to leave out. As recreated through the diary, though sexual liaisons are often secretive, one presumes that there was as much, if not more, sexual activity then than there is in our "permissive" society of today. Second, as an autobiography, the work chronicles the life of an interesting man. Since, or though he treats all non-sexual aspects of his life as secondary, one grows one-dimensionally with this man and wonders about his motives (and the other parts of his life that are not visible). Third, the work is a stimulating piece of pornography that is so candid that it would make Cassanova blush! From all aspects, My Secret Life is a classic that should not be overlooked."