Under the Hill is an unfinished erotic novel by Aubrey Beardsley

Aubrey Beardsley

Aubrey Vincent Beardsley was an English illustrator and author. His drawings, done in black ink and influenced by the style of Japanese woodcuts, emphasized the grotesque, the decadent, and the erotic. He was a leading figure in the Aesthetic movement which also included Oscar Wilde and James A....

, based on the legend of Tannhäuser

Tannhäuser

Tannhäuser was a German Minnesänger and poet. Historically, his biography is obscure beyond the poetry, which dates between 1245 and 1265...

. The first parts of it were published in The Savoy

The Savoy (periodical)

This article is about the former British magazine, for other uses, see Savoy The Savoy was a magazine of literature, art, and criticism published in 1896 in London. It featured work by authors such as W. B. Yeats, Max Beerbohm, Joseph Conrad, and Aubrey Beardsley. Only eight issues of the magazine...

and later issued in book form by Leonard Smithers

Leonard Smithers

Leonard Smithers was a London publisher associated with the Decadent movement. Born in Sheffield, he worked as a solicitor, qualifying in 1884, and became friendly with the explorer and orientalist Sir Richard Francis Burton. He published Burton's translation of the Book of One Thousand and One...

. In 1907, the original manuscript was published and entitled The Story of Venus and Tannhäuser.

A version completed by John Glassco

John Glassco

John Glassco was a Canadian poet, memoirist and novelist. "Glassco will be remembered for his brilliant autobiography, his elegant, classical poems, and for his translations." He is also remembered by some for his pornography.-Life:Born in Montreal to a well-off merchant family, John Glassco was...

was published in 1959 by Olympia Press, in a limited run of 3000 copies. This completed version was also later introduced into the Olympia Press/New English Library "Traveller's Companion Series" in 1966.