Beforehand, some of these books, with their lurid titles, were thought to be figments of Austen's imagination.

Anthony Holden's "Behind the Oscar: The Secret History of the Academy Awards" doesn't live up to its lurid title, but its gossipy heart is in the right place.

David Sterritt, writing in the Christian Science Monitor, noted the film was "quite tame despite its lurid title, containing little that would push the boundaries of today's PG-13 rating."

Lewton cannot be blamed for those lurid titles.

Nationally, Brazil is hardly the kidnapping capital of Latin America, a lurid title that Colombia runs little risk of losing anytime soon.

Last summer, Finkelstein published an article with the lurid title "Daniel Jonah Goldhagen's 'Crazy' Thesis" in the British New Left Review .

Many titles of classic literature were given lurid titles in order to increase sales.

Mr. Schwartz's article was given a particularly lurid title: "Intellectuals and Assassins - Annals of Stalin's Killerati."