Banned in China: First published in Florence, Italy, because it could not be published in the United Kingdom until 1960. And was indeed banned in China until the 1980s.
Streisand Effect: After Penguin Books won the famous 1960 R v Penguin Books Ltd obscenity trial and were allowed to publish the novel's first uncensored edition, the edition quickly sold out to curious readers who had wondered what all the hullabaloo brought on by the trial and news related to it was about.
Write What You Know: Based off the author's personal experiences as a cuckold.
The 1981 film
Creator Couple: Producer André Djaoui and Sylvia Kristel were romantically involved during filming. When Kristel cut her hair short after her last scene was shot, Djaoui didn't like her new look and ended the affair.
Ken Russell, who had previously adapted DH Lawrence's Women in Love, was considered to direct, but was unavailable. He would later adapt Lawrence's The Rainbow and also direct the 1993 adaptation.
Screwed by the Lawyers: The original score was removed from the DVD release because of copyright issues. As a result, non-copyrighted material was used, and often repeated several times throughout the film.
