Régine Deforges, born in 1935, had several professions linked to the book industry before becoming a publisher by founding L’Or du Temps in 1968.
She wrote scripts and novels, did bookbinding and looked after several book shops.
The L’Or du Temps catalogue was known for its reprints of erotic books by great or unknown authors.
Very soon, Deforges was obliged to deposit her books for approval before publication. L’Or du Temps was animated by the same libertarian dynamism boasted by Jean-Jacques Pauvert, Éric Losfeld and Claude Tchou, with an added dash of feminism.
Her Bibliothèque privée contemporaine series contained several works that were condemned.
Trials, fines and the privation of civic rights obliged the publisher to file for bankruptcy. Since the 1980s, Régine Deforges has been writing novels; her talent has attracted a wide readership.
‘They are lying: our times do not enjoy the privilege of being more erotic than others; on the contrary, it’s all on the surface – before, it was deep. Our grandparents and great grandparents had many more pornographic books, objects and creations than we do.’
Régine Deforges, ‘Note de l’éditeur’, Jacques Bonhomme, L’Art érotique (Voluptés sensuelles), L’Or du Temps, 1970.