Mum’s e-book describing rape of infants hits Amazon charts earlier than being pulled
A disturbing self-published “dark romance” novel containing graphic scenes of child sexual abuse, including the rape of a baby, was removed from Amazon after going viral
“Corps à cœur” (“Body to heart”), a self-published novel by French author Jessie Auryann(Image: AMAZON)
A self-published “dark romance” novel featuring graphic depictions of child sexual abuse, including the rape of a baby, has ignited outrage. The disturbing work was pulled from Amazon after it briefly became a bestseller.
Corps à cœur (Body to heart), a self-published novel by French author Jessie Auryann, reached eleventh place among the best-selling books on Amazon. It was pulled from the platform after a petition calling for its removal gathered over 50,000 signatures.
Several passages from the book went viral on X (formerly Twitter) and TikTok, particularly a scene in which the adult protagonist rapes an infant. These graphic depictions of sexual violence against children sparked outrage on social media and led to widespread calls for the book to be banned.
The petition, launched by literary influencer Anaïs Petrelli, argued that the book confuses “artistic transgression” with “excusing illegal content”, and insisted that “dark romance should not be used as a Trojan horse to normalise child sexual abuse”. While dark romance is a literary genre known for its explicit scenes and the romanticisation of problematic relationships, Corps à cœur shocked many readers who said they were otherwise accustomed to such content.
Auryann responded on Instagram, claiming to be the victim of a “smear and disinformation campaign” and stating that her book contains explicit trigger warnings, French news outlet Libération reported. Auryann’s Instagram page has seemingly been deactivated at the time of writing.
She has reportedly described herself as a “troubled author who likes to push boundaries and provoke,” and says she enjoys “torturing [her] characters as much as [her] readers.” According to her Babelio profile, she is a stay-at-home mum-of-three who has published six similar novels and “likes to play with society’s taboos”.
Nevertheless, Auryann’s Facebook page is still active. Last week, she wrote: “For several days, a campaign of denigration and disinformation targets my work as an author and my person.
“If literary criticism is a fundamental right, it would not be able to justify harassment, incitement to hate or defamation. Truth in a few points: Warning: Contrary to claims circulated to harm my image, my novel contains clear warnings, an author’s note, and explicit Trigger Warnings from the very first pages.
“Defamation: Words of extreme seriousness associating me with actual crime were held. These defamatory accusations go beyond the scope of law and decency.
“Incitement to Hate: Calls for hate have been made and encouraged publicly. Consequences: A comprehensive file, including all the evidence (videos, comments, digital identities), has been compiled and secured for litigation.
“Social media is not a no law zone. My priority remains my safety, my mental health and respect for my job. This account becomes again a space dedicated to literature and kindness.”
Legal authorities have since been notified. MP Antoine Léaument announced on X that he had alerted Pharos (the French online hate and crime reporting platform) and the public prosecutor under article 227-24 of the French Penal Code, which focuses on sexual offenses against minors.
The High Commissioner for Children, Sarah El Haïry, also stressed: “Not everything can be written in the name of dark romance.”
Furthermore, Amazon initially said it was urgently reviewing the title before announcing its removal from the platform. The Daily Star has contacted Amazon for comment.
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