The Marquis de Sade A Life

A compelling and meticulously researched biography of the notorious Marquis de Sade by Neil Schaeffer. This **paperback** edition offers a detailed reconstruction of Donatien-Alphonse-Francois de Sade's tumultuous life, set against the vibrant and often brutal backdrop of 18th-century France. Schaeffer delves into Sade's 'almost incredible adventures,' from his scandalous youth and forced marriage, through a thirteen-year imprisonment without trial prompted by his 'insatiable sexual appetites and disdain for all forms of convention.' Freed by the Revolution, the 'brilliantly protean Marquis' surprisingly became a revolutionary leader, narrowly escaping the guillotine. His later years saw him again imprisoned under Napoleon, spending almost twelve years in an insane asylum, where he died at seventy-four following a final dalliance with a teenage girl. The narrative challenges conventional perceptions, revealing a 'surprisingly unsadistic Sade' capable of deep romantic love, passionate adherence to Enlightenment principles, and possessing an inexhaustible charm, albeit alongside his 'delusional paranoia.' Through an insightful reading of his controversial novels, including the notorious masterpiece *120 Days of Sodom*, Schaeffer powerfully argues for Sade's significance as one of the great literary imaginations of the eighteenth century – a figure who maintained a lifelong, ultimately self-destructive argument against the limitations of authority and morality. This copy is in **Good** condition. As a paperback, it was not issued with a dust jacket.

• Author: Schaeffer, Neil
• Publisher: Picador
• Year: 2001
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: Good
• ISBN: 9780330319614