Marquis de Sade
Marquis de Sade, (1740-1814). French writer and thinker, from whose name the term ‘sadism’ is de-rived. From the time of his marriage in 1763, he led an ostentatiously licentious life and was imprisoned several times for his perverted treatment of prostitutes. He began his writing career in the Bastille prison, where he indulged his sexual fantasies in his novels. His works, which were still officially banned in France until recently, include The Adversities of Virtue (1787) and Justine (1791). He died in a lunatic asylum in Charenton after years of confinement. In the 20th century, his nihilistic philosophy has been reappraised as a fore-runner of existentialism.
