The Story of OFirst edition of The Story of O by Pauline Reage. First impression. Medium format hardback in near fine condition. About The Story of O is a 1954 erotic novel written by French writer Anne Desclos under the pen name Pauline Rage. Explicit and intense in tone, the work centers on the sexual life and fantasies of O, who engages in sadomasochistic play with her lover and several other figures, both men and women. At the time the novel was written, women