Bernard-René Jourdan de Launay however written on 5 July that "there are two sources of anxiety concerning the Bastille; the person of the commandant (de Launay) and the nature of the garrison there". De Launay had three daughters by two wives. Some of de Launay's brother's descendants settled in Russia (see Boris Delaunay and Vadim Delaunay for details). His killing is described graphically in Charles Dickens' "A Tale of Two Cities" (Book II, Chapter 21) and also in Hilary Mantel's "A Place of Greater Safety". Bernard-René Jourdan de Launay Bernard René Jourdan, marquis de Launay (1740–1789) was the French governor of the Bastille, the
Louis-Alexandre de Launay, comte d'Antraigues French Revolution and Napoleon. Louis-Alexandre de Launay, comte d'Antraigues Emmanuel Henri Louis Alexandre de Launay, comte d'Antraigues (25 December 1753 Montpellier – 22 July 1812 Barnes, London) was a French pamphleteer, diplomat, spy and political adventurer during the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars. At the age of fourteen, d'Antraigues joined the army. Initially a member of the Garde du Corps at the Palace of Versailles, he eventually became a captain of the Royal Piedmont Cavalry Regiment. Increasingly, though, he became dissatisfied with army life as he became acquainted with several of the leading lights of the Age of Enlightenment. In