Marquise de Sade

Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade (1740-1814), was a French nobleman, writer, and philosopher infamous for his erotic novels exploring extreme sexual perversions, which gave rise to the term 'sadism.' Born into an aristocratic Provençal family, he married in 1763 and settled at Château de Lacoste, but his libertine scandals led to multiple arrests, including a 13-year imprisonment at Vincennes and the Bastille from 1777 to 1790, during which he began his literary career with works like 'Les 120 Journées de Sodome.' He spent much of his later life in prisons and asylums under various regimes, continuing to write provocative texts such as 'Justine' and 'Juliette' until his death.