Justine (de Sade novel) was an early work by the Marquis de Sade, written in two weeks in 1787 while imprisoned in the Bastille. It is a novella (187 pages) with relatively little of the obscenity that characterized his later writing, as it was written in the classical style (which was fashionable at the time), with much verbose and metaphorical description. A much extended and more graphic version, entitled "Justine ou Les Malheurs de la vertu" (1791) (English title: "Justine, or The Misfortunes of the Virtue" or simply "Justine"), was the first of de Sade's books published. A further extended version, "La Nouvelle Justine
Paris in the 18th century when censorship was abolished. Serious publications, such as the "Journal des Débats" appeared, along with thousands of short pamphlets, addressing the current topics of the day, and often virulent in their language. The period of press freedom did not last for long; in 1792 Robespierre and the Jacobins restored censorship and closed opposition newspapers and printing houses. Strict censorship was retained by governments that followed. Freedom of the press was not restored until the second half of the 19th century. Several weekly and monthly magazines appeared in the early 18th century; the "Mercure de France", originally called the "Mercure Gallant",