Bernard-René Jourdan de Launay permanently stationed in Paris except in time of war. In 1776 de Launay succeeded M. de Jumilhac as Governor of the Bastille. As was the custom with many senior positions under the Ancien Régime, the marquis purchased the office of governor from his predecessor as a form of investment. The thirteen years that he spent in this position were uneventful, though on 19 December 1778 he reportedly made the mistake of failing to fire the cannon of the Bastille as a salute on the birth of a daughter (Madame Royale) to King Louis XVI. In August 1785 he was given
André Launay André Launay André Joseph Launay is a novelist, essayist, humourist and dramatist of French descent who writes in English under the pen names André Launay, Drew Launay, Andrew Laurance and Drew Lamark. He is the author of family dramas, psychic thrillers, humour and travel books published in the United Kingdom and in the US. Launay lives in Nerja, in the south of Spain; He has three children: record producer Nick Launay, film director Matthew Launay, artist and illustrator Melissa Launay, and three grandchildren; Lee, Lana, Nicolas & Samuel. Visit the Drew Launay website at https://web.archive.org/web/20100924085552/http://www.drewlaunay.com/ where his best sellers are