Read Online CRIMINAL MASTERMINDS (True Crime) by Anne Williams, Vivian Head, Sebastian Prooth - Free Book Online Page B
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recoil in horror. Though he had committed far worse tortures to satisfy his own passions, he was unable to stand the sight of these indiscriminate deaths.
Now grossly overweight and no longer technically a marquis, de Sade was still unrepentant for his previous life. He still lusted after the pleasures of the flesh and, even as he penned his revolutionary documents, he continued to write his novels of sexual depravity. Unable to get financial backing, de Sade decided to sell off some of his family holdings, which enabled him to continue to write.
He resigned his post in 1793, but he didn’t remain a free man for much longer. He found himself in prison once again, this time at the hands of the Emperor Napoleon’s government, accused of writing damning literature. He served a 375-day sentence and wrote:
My government imprisonment, with the guillotine before my eyes, did me more harm than all the Bastilles imaginable.
On his release, it appears that much of the old drive and cravings had gone. Once again he found himself in financial difficulties and was forced to sell La Coste, making himself a very small profit. The money didn’t last long and he was forced to stay with a local farmer, far removed from his earlier luxurious lifestyle. He took a job as an actor in Versailles, which earned him about 40 sous a day, playing the part of Fabrice in his own play Oxtiern .
LIFE IN AN ASYLUM
In the early part of 1800, de Sade was forced to go into hospital, suffering from cold and starvation, and the thought of facing debtor’s prison once again affected his nerves. On April 5, 1801, he was imprisoned in Sainte-Pelagie, but with his sanity now in doubt, he was moved to Charenton, an asylum for the mentally insane. Madame Quesnet, a woman who had taken pity on the now pathetic figure, pretended to be his daughter and managed to get a room next to de Sade’s. Quesnet was a loyal friend and stayed by his side for the remainder of his life.
In the security of an institution, de Sade settled and once again started his writings. From inside the asylum he was able to publish Philosophy in the Bedroom and completed a modified version of Justine and Juliette .
He also started work on an immense ten-volume document called Les Journées de Forbelle , but, like his personal journals and memoirs, this work did not survive. Although de Sade continued writing, he became more and more paranoid and despite the fact that he was encouraged to stage plays with other inmates, their content was such that they often had to be stopped because they caused too much excitement.
The Marquis de Sade died peacefully in his sleep on December 2, 1814, at the age of seventy-four. To this day the word ‘sadism’ is synonymous with cruelty and bloodshed, and will always be connected with his name. Although there is no doubt he was as an incredibly disturbed man, possibly even a freak, who wrote extreme erotica, it must be remembered that he was also a product of nineteenth century France. The motto of the upper classes during this period was plaisir a tout prix – pleasure at any price – something that de Sade lived up to in every respect. It was a period of unrestrained indulgence, which even the clergy were not exempt from. Parisian police records show that many hundreds of monks, curates and other religious workers were caught in acts of indencency. Prostitution increased to an estimated 30,000 during the French Revolution and regulations were abandoned as it was felt that it would be an affront to personal freedom.
De Sade’s family, who were embarrassed by his writing, attempted to have all of his works burned after his death, but many survived to be published a century later. His grave was desecrated many years on, in order to take phrenological measurements of his skull for the purpose of medical investigations.
His masterpiece, The 120 Days of Sodom , which was feared lost, was discovered in 1904, rolled up in
Now grossly overweight and no longer technically a marquis, de Sade was still unrepentant for his previous life. He still lusted after the pleasures of the flesh and, even as he penned his revolutionary documents, he continued to write his novels of sexual depravity. Unable to get financial backing, de Sade decided to sell off some of his family holdings, which enabled him to continue to write.
He resigned his post in 1793, but he didn’t remain a free man for much longer. He found himself in prison once again, this time at the hands of the Emperor Napoleon’s government, accused of writing damning literature. He served a 375-day sentence and wrote:
My government imprisonment, with the guillotine before my eyes, did me more harm than all the Bastilles imaginable.
On his release, it appears that much of the old drive and cravings had gone. Once again he found himself in financial difficulties and was forced to sell La Coste, making himself a very small profit. The money didn’t last long and he was forced to stay with a local farmer, far removed from his earlier luxurious lifestyle. He took a job as an actor in Versailles, which earned him about 40 sous a day, playing the part of Fabrice in his own play Oxtiern .
LIFE IN AN ASYLUM
In the early part of 1800, de Sade was forced to go into hospital, suffering from cold and starvation, and the thought of facing debtor’s prison once again affected his nerves. On April 5, 1801, he was imprisoned in Sainte-Pelagie, but with his sanity now in doubt, he was moved to Charenton, an asylum for the mentally insane. Madame Quesnet, a woman who had taken pity on the now pathetic figure, pretended to be his daughter and managed to get a room next to de Sade’s. Quesnet was a loyal friend and stayed by his side for the remainder of his life.
In the security of an institution, de Sade settled and once again started his writings. From inside the asylum he was able to publish Philosophy in the Bedroom and completed a modified version of Justine and Juliette .
He also started work on an immense ten-volume document called Les Journées de Forbelle , but, like his personal journals and memoirs, this work did not survive. Although de Sade continued writing, he became more and more paranoid and despite the fact that he was encouraged to stage plays with other inmates, their content was such that they often had to be stopped because they caused too much excitement.
The Marquis de Sade died peacefully in his sleep on December 2, 1814, at the age of seventy-four. To this day the word ‘sadism’ is synonymous with cruelty and bloodshed, and will always be connected with his name. Although there is no doubt he was as an incredibly disturbed man, possibly even a freak, who wrote extreme erotica, it must be remembered that he was also a product of nineteenth century France. The motto of the upper classes during this period was plaisir a tout prix – pleasure at any price – something that de Sade lived up to in every respect. It was a period of unrestrained indulgence, which even the clergy were not exempt from. Parisian police records show that many hundreds of monks, curates and other religious workers were caught in acts of indencency. Prostitution increased to an estimated 30,000 during the French Revolution and regulations were abandoned as it was felt that it would be an affront to personal freedom.
De Sade’s family, who were embarrassed by his writing, attempted to have all of his works burned after his death, but many survived to be published a century later. His grave was desecrated many years on, in order to take phrenological measurements of his skull for the purpose of medical investigations.
His masterpiece, The 120 Days of Sodom , which was feared lost, was discovered in 1904, rolled up in
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