Sex and the Short Story examines the evolution of the language, such as when specific words first appeared in English dictionaries, associated with sexual descriptions in novels and short stories; pans across obscenity trials and looks with some amazement at the rapid evolution from prudishness to a point where almost anything goes.
Dr James Cumes worked his way up the Australian Foreign Affairs Department and subsequently became a distinguished Australian Ambassador to the European Union after holding diplomatic posts including Ambassador and Head of Mission in Paris, Geneva, London, Bonn and Berlin. His career has also included acting as Australian representative to the United
Nations and Governor on the Board of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Cumes passed away in 2013. Ever prolific, he was working on two books of memoirs derived from his period as High Commissioner to Nigeria.
While his pursuit into erotica and the short story seems at odds with the official nature of much of James Cumes’ career and other writings, his diversity of interests made him one of Australia’s few truly Renaissance characters.
