Gilbert Lely (1904–1985)

An apparently meticulously researched biography of the Marquis de Sade. But, then, what do I know? The part I remember the most is that when de Sade was freed during the French Revolution he was supposedly made a judge. The story goes that his mother-in-law, who had had him imprisoned b/c of his sexual proclivities, came before him to be judged as an artistrocrat to potentially be beheaded. He supposedly let her go. That's a hard one to believe but if it's true I find it more than a little show more interesting. show less

A somewhat pedantic but comprehensive biography of the Divine Marquis, a break-through because of its subject for its time in the 50s and 60s.

Second best biography of de Sade after At Home