Profile
Marquis de Sade: The Writer Behind 'Sadism'
French aristocrat and writer, born 1740
The Marquis de Sade was born in Paris on 2 June 1740.
He wrote The 120 Days of Sodom in the Bastille in 1785.
He was confined at Charenton asylum from 1803.
He died there on 2 December 1814.
Career highlights
- 1763Marriage: to Renée-Pélagie
- 1778Vincennes: imprisoned
- 1785The 120 Days of Sodom: written in the Bastille
- 1791Justine: published
- 1803Charenton: final confinement
Did you know?The word 'sadism' comes from his name.