The novel is narrated by the male secretary to Count X..., who has been invited along with seven other male guests on a cruise starting from the port of Cannes with a destination of "Turkish waters". Eight lady guests are companions to Sir Reginald and his seven friends. Three belong to the "demi-monde" (what we would call escorts today), and two are Parisian actresses. The remaining three are a dressmaker's seamstress/model and two of her friends, the youngest of whom is 17.
Once the ship sets sail, and the men and women are paired up, a series of orgiastic evening events take place with the author describing scenes of rape and physical abuse. Reading this today, I can't help but thinking of descriptions of Jeffrey Epstein's yacht parties with underage sex slaves available for the use and entertainment of his guests.
The Introduction is written by C.J. Scheiner, the author of The Encyclopedia Of Erotic Literature, and contains some interesting history on the publication of this book. This edition is a photo reproduction of the original text which has terrible typesetting and numerous misspellings, supposedly because the book was printed in "France, Holland, or Belgium" to avoid censorship from the non-English local police. Not recommended reading, except for those interested in Victorian/Edwardian male sexual fantasies and erotica.
