Foreword

This novel chronicles the story of a beautiful, dominant woman who wins romance by training the man she selects as spouse to be her lifelong submissive husband-slave. It is intended as a homage to the classic French spanking novels of the early 20th century, particularly during the peak of the genre, from the 1920s through 1939.These illustrated novels featured such titles as Jacinthe, L’Amour Fouetté, Venez ici, qu’on vous Fouette, Journées Chaudes, Matée Par Le Fouet, and Cinglants Châtiments, among many others.

Like those vintage novels of the period between wars, Michaelene’s Will o’ the Whip is illustrated, by erotic artist extraordinaire Rebecca, celebrated for her Housewives at Play comics, albums, web site, and graphic novels.

Illustrations adorning this volume were an author-artist collaboration, but make no mistake: Rebecca’s illustrations of intimate acts are second to none.

Michaelene’s Will o’ the Whip is also literary Femdom, a specialty that often exists in shadow. Another term for the material is BDSM. It says something about the nature of the popular imagination that volumes like Fifty Shades of Grey, which explore the concept of a sexually dominant male are successful; whereas novels about dominant females have a readership that is usually described as niche.

It’s a truism of human social organization that the alpha male is frequently a bully of the first order, and often insane to boot. This wouldn’t be a huge problem, except for those immediately affected, were not for the fact that the survival of humanity and the fragile sphere upon which we dwell are currently at high risk from these creatures.

Therefore, a new “paradigm,” as trend-watchers like to say, is warranted. At a conscious level, I offer Michaelene’s Will o’ the Whip as a fable for a new paradigm. The woman at the heart of this novel may not yet exist in abundance, but I am encouraging her emergence by examining her fictional life during a pivotal time.

The simple fact of the matter is that when a woman has a man in her life, her main goal must be to slowly, surely, and inevitably, turn him into her Bitch.

What do I mean by Bitch? It’s a descriptive acronym, short for Being In Total Control of Him.

Another fact is that in nearly all long term Female-male relationships, the woman has achieved this goal. Have you ever attended a thirty-forty year wedding anniversary party, read a silver anniversary announcement, or seen a photo of a senior heterosexual couple?

That would be a Woman and her Bitch.

It is highly ironic that depictions of dominant females in the cultural imagination are so unfavorable, because in truth a dominant woman is the primary domestic relationship the majority of human beings experience on planet Earth.

She, not he, rules the household.

For purposes of entertainment, the relationship model Michaelene and Patrick follow is supercharged with ardent Femdom interaction, the sort Leopold Sacher-Masoch jump started with his 1870 Venus in Furs novel. I sincerely hope Femdom habitués find this artfully assembled and prurient package positively pleasing.

Thank you for reading.

—M. J. Rennie, 2021.