Sex

The Last Supper by Charles McCarry tells tales of espionage without titillating the reader with gratuitous violence or sex. McCarry deals often with sex simply to illustrate various eras in the novel. Between the wars in Germany, Baroness Hannelore von Buecheler or "Lori" is a liberated young woman, unwilling to have any male tell her what to do. Reading Hubbard Christopher's manuscript, she declares him a genius and seduces him. They marry only when the birth of Paul is imminent. Note that the Christophers represent the upper classes of their respective societies. A nude portrait of Lori pregnant with Paul appears throughout the novel as a lovely and chaste symbol of life.

After World War II, sex is portrayed in a vile and filthy manner. Aristocratic German women are forced to perform oral sex in the streets for American and Russian enlisted men to earn enough to survive...