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)
18th-century French literature drawing readers by its pre-romantic depiction of nature and romantic love. Another popular example was "Paul et Virginie" by Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre (1787). The "romans éclatés", roughly translated "Novels broken apart", such as "Jacques le fataliste et son maître" (Eng: "Jacques the Fatalist and His Master") (1773) and "le Neveu de Rameau" (Eng: "The Nephew of Rameau") (1762) by Diderot are almost impossible to classify, but resemble the modernist novels that would come a century or more later. Literary stories of people's lives were popular throughout the 18th century, with such popular books as "la Vie de mon père"