Justine (de Sade novel) Justine (de Sade novel) Justine, or The Misfortunes of Virtue (French: Justine, ou Les Malheurs de la Vertu) is a 1791 novel by Donatien Alphonse François de Sade, better known as the Marquis de Sade. "Justine" is set just before the French Revolution in France and tells the story of a young woman who goes under the name of Thérèse. Her story is recounted to Madame de Lorsagne while defending herself for her crimes, en route to punishment and death. She explains the series of misfortunes that led her present situation. "Justine" (original French title: Les infortunes de la vertu)
Paris in the 18th century who had not taken the oath secretly conducting religious services. The Catholic Church was required to share the use of Notre-Dame, Saint-Sulpice and Saint-Roche with two new secular religions based on reason that had been created in the spirit of the Revolution; The church of Theophilanthropy and the Church of the Decadaire, the latter named for the ten-month revolutionary calendar. The Protestant Church had been strictly controlled and limited by the royal government for most of the 18th century. Only one church building was allowed, at Charenton, far from the center of the city, six kilometers from the Bastille. There