Marquis de Sade Marquis de Sade Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade (; 2 June 1740 – 2 December 1814), was a French nobleman, revolutionary politician, philosopher, and writer, famous for his libertine sexuality. His works include novels, short stories, plays, dialogues, and political tracts; in his lifetime some were published under his own name while others appeared anonymously, which Sade denied having written. Sade is best known for his erotic works, which combined philosophical discourse with pornography, depicting sexual fantasies with an emphasis on violence, suffering, criminality, and blasphemy against Christianity. He gained notoriety for putting these fantasies into practice with both
Alphonse de Beauchamp Alphonse de Beauchamp Alphonse de Beauchamp (1767–1832) was a French historian. He was born in Monaco, he was educated in Paris. He entered the Sardinian military service in 1784, but suffered imprisonment in 1792 for refusing to bear arms against the French Republic. Beauchamp escaped to France, where he obtained a position in the office of the Minister of Police, and was assigned the surveillance of the press. Beauchamp commenced his "Histoire de la Vendée et des Chouans" (three volumes, Paris, 1806), which depicted the cruelties of the Fouché regime. This book displeased the Emperor, and Beauchamp was banished to