Banned Books in Lewisham Libraries

Posted by Anonymous on
 
How many Banned Books have you read?
We have a new display in Lewisham Library and you may be surprised to find out what was once banned and why. We have links to digital versions, where they are available. All other items can be found through the catalogue.

 
 


 
All Quiet on the Western Front
(1929) By Erich Maria Remarquethor

This book was banned in Nazi Germany for being demoralizing and insulting to the Wehrmacht.

 
 



Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
(1865) By Lewis Carroll
Used to be banned in the province of Hunan, China, beginning in 1931 for its portrayal of anthropomorphized animals acting on the same level of complexity as human beings. The censor General Ho Chien believed that attributing human language to animals was an insult to humans. He feared that the book would teach children to regard humans and animals on the same level, which would be "disastrous".

 


Animal Farm
(1945) By George Orwell
Political novella completed in 1943, Orwell found that no publisher would print the book, due to its criticism of the U.S.S.R., an important ally of Britain in the War. Once published, the book was banned in the USSR and other communist countries. A play of Animal Farm was banned in Kenya in 1991, because it criticizes corrupt leaders. In 2002, the novel was banned in the schools of the United Arab Emirates, because it contained text or images that goes against Islamic values, most notably the occurrence of an anthropomorphic, talking pig.The Book is still banned in Cuba and North Korea, and censored in China.


 
 

Brave New World
(1932) by Aldous Huxley
This book was banned in Ireland in 1932, allegedly because of references of sexual promiscuity. Banned in Australia from 1932 to 1937.


 
 

The Canterbury Tales
(late 14th century) by Geoffrey Chaucer
Story collection Banned from the U.S. mail under the Federal Anti-Obscenity Act (Comstock Law) of 1873, which banned the sending or receiving of works containing "obscene," "filthy," or "inappropriate" material.



 
 


Catch-22
(1961) by Joseph Heller
This book was banned in several states: in 1972, it was banned in Strongsville, Ohio (overturned in 1976); in 1974, it was banned in Dallas, Texas, and in 1979 it was banned in Snoqualmie, Washington


 
 


The Da Vinci Code
(2003) by Dan Brown

Banned in September 2004 in Lebanon after Catholic leaders deemed it offensive to Christianity.
 
 

The Dark
(1965) by John McGahern

This book was banned in Ireland for obscenity


 
 

The Diary of Anne Frank
(1947) by Anne Frank

This novel was banned in Lebanon for "portray[ing] Jews, Israel or Zionism favorably".

 
 


Frankenstein
 by Mary Shelley, 1818.

This book was banned in apartheid South Africa in 1955 for containing "obscene" or "indecent" material.

 
 

The Grapes of Wrath
(1939) by John Steinbeck
This book was temporarily banned in many places in the US. In the region of California in which it was partially set, it was banned for its alleged unflattering portrayal of area residents.


 
 

 
Green Eggs and Ham
(1960) by Dr. Seuss

In 1965, the children's novel was temporarily This book was banned in the People's Republic of China for its portrayal of early Marxism. The ban was lifted in 1991, following Seuss' death.

 
 

Lady Chatterley's Lover
(1928) by D. H. Lawrence
This book was temporarily banned in the United States and the United Kingdom for violation of obscenity laws; both bans were lifted in 1959 and 1960, respectively.


 
 

Madame Bovary
(1856) by Gustave Flaubert
Flaubert's novel was banned and he was prosecuted for "offenses against public morals".


 
 


Naked Lunch
(1959) By William S.Burroughs

This book was banned by Boston courts in 1962 for obscenity, but that decision was reversed in 1966 by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.


 
 


Nineteen Eighty-Four
 (1949)By George Orwell
This book was banned by the Soviet Union in 1950, as Stalin understood that it was a satire based on his leadership. It was nearly This book was banned by U.S.A. and UK in the early 1960s during the Cuban Missile Crisis. It was not until 1990 that the U.S.S.R. legalised the book and it was re-released after editing.

 
 


One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (2000) by Alexander Solzhenitsyn
The story is set in a Soviet labour camp in the 1950s, and describes a single day of an ordinary prisoner, Ivan Denisovich Shukhov. This book was banned in the USSR for political reasons. The author was sent into exile.
Copies
ISBN: 9780141184746
Search the Library Catalogue

 
 

 
The Satanic Verses
 (1988) by Salman Rushdie
Banned in the following countries for alleged blasphemy against Islam: Bangladesh, Egypt, India, Iran, Kenya, Kuwait, Liberia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Pakistan, Senegal, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Tanzania and Thailand.
 
 


Spycatcher
 (1985) by Peter Wright
This book was banned in the UK 1985–1988 for revealing secrets. Wright was a former MI5 intelligence officer and his book was banned before it was even published in 1987.
Copies
ISBN: 9781409121299

Search the Library Catalogue

 
 

Tropic of Cancer
(1934) by Henry Miller
This book was banned in the U.S.A in the 1930s until the early 1960s, seized by US Customs for sexually explicit content and vulgarity. The rest of Miller's work was also banned by the United States. Also banned in South Africa until the late 1980s.




 
 


Ulysses
(1922) by James Joyce
This book was banned in UK until the 1930s.Challenged and temporarily banned in the U.S.A for its sexual content. In 1933 the ban was overturned in United States v. One Book Called Ulysses.
This book was banned in Australia from 1929 to 1937, then restricted to people over the age of 18 from 1941 to 1953.
 
 

Further Information

To find out more about banned books, please visit
Banned Book Week

Normally held during the last week of September, it highlights the value of free and open access to information.
 
 
Location: London Borough of Lewisham, UK

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