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
Chateau and Seigneurie de Launay steeped in the events of the last 600 years. The early history is dependent on archival material which is incomplete. Seigneur (lord) Robin de Launay was the most powerful of the 22 vassals to the Count of Bresteau whose lands spanned seven parishes in western France. Much of the count's holdings were lost in the Hundred Years War. The lands and castle of Launay survived the wars though Robin de Launay did not. In 1404 the daughter of Robin de Launay inherited the properties and the associated title. Soon thereafter she married Pierre de Milon, Seigneur de Mortrie and Lavigne,