Donatien Alphonse François Sade Libros

Amidst the looming chaos of the French Revolution, the narrative unfolds while Sade is confined in the Bastille. "Aline and Valcour" explores themes that would later define his more controversial writings, delving into complex human desires and moral dilemmas. This work foreshadows the provocative ideas that characterize Sade's literary legacy, offering a glimpse into the tumultuous interplay of passion and philosophy during a pivotal historical moment.

Exploring the life and works of the notorious Marquis de Sade, this historical novel, discovered posthumously, showcases his literary prowess beyond his infamous reputation. Known for his scandalous erotic novels, Sade also delved into history with "Adelaide of Brunswick," reflecting his philosophical insights and dramatic flair. This work highlights the complexity of a man often condemned by society, revealing his significant contributions to literature and thought.

Set during the tumultuous period leading to the French Revolution, this novel reflects the complexities of human desire and morality, showcasing themes that would later define Sade's more controversial writings. Composed during his imprisonment in the Bastille, it delves into the intricacies of love, power, and philosophical inquiry, offering a unique perspective on the societal upheaval of the time.

Part of Sade's The Crimes of Love cycle, this shocking tale - which was among the writings banned for publication until the twentieth century - tests the limits of morality and portrays the disastrous consequences of freedom and pleasure.

The 1990s have seen a resurgence of interest in the Marquis de Sade, with several biographies competing to put their version of his life story before the public. But Sadean scholar Richard Seaver takes us directly to the source, translating Sade's prison correspondence. Seaver's translations retain the aristocratic hauteur of Sade's prose, which still possesses a clarity that any reader can appreciate. "When will my horrible situation cease?" he wrote to his wife shortly after his incarceration began in 1777. "When in God's name will I be let out of the tomb where I have been buried alive? There is nothing to equal the horror of my fate!" But he was never reduced to pleading for long, and not always so solicitous of his wife's feelings; a few years later, he would write, "This morning I received a fat letter from you that seemed endless. Please, I beg of you, don't go on at such length: do you believe that I have nothing better to do than to read your endless repetitions?" For those interested in learning about the man responsible for some of the most infamous philosophical fiction in history, Letters from Prison is an indispensable collection.

The Marquis de Sade, vilified by respectable society from his own time through ours, apotheosized by Apollinaire as "the freest spirit that has yet existed," wrote The 120 Days of Sodom while imprisoned in the Bastille. An exhaustive catalogue of sexual aberrations and the first systematic exploration-a hundred years before Krafft-Ebing and Freud-of the psychology of sex, it is considered Sade's crowning achievement and the cornerstone of his thought. Lost after the storming of the Bastille in 1789, it was later retrieved but remained unpublished until 1935. In addition to The 120 Days, this volume includes Sade's "Reflections on the Novel," his play Oxtiem, and his novella Ernestine. The selections are introduced by Simone de Beauvoir's landmark essay "Must We Burn Sade?" and Pierre Klossowski's provocative "Nature as Destructive Principle." "Imperious, choleric, irascible, extreme in everything, with a dissolute imagination the like of which has never been seen, atheistic to the point of fanaticism, there you have me in a nutshell, and kill me again or take me as I am, for I shall not change."-From Sade's Last Will and Testament