Controversy
Since God's Little Acre contained scenes of (what was then) explicit sexuality, the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice took Caldwell and Viking Press to court for disseminating pornography. More than 60 authors, editors, and literary critics rallied in support of the book, and Judge Benjamin Greenspan of the New York Magistrates' Court ruled in its favor. The court case is still considered a major decision in the establishment of artists' First Amendment rights in freedom of expression. Caldwell counter-sued the literary society for false arrest and malicious prosecution.
In 1947, the city of Saint Paul, Minnesota, also banned the novel for being pornographic.
Having sold more than 10 million copies, the book remains one of the most popular novels ever published.
Read more about this topic: God's Little Acre
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