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I had read his other books, and this was supposedly his "masterpiece" or "most abhorrent", depending on your viewpoint. De Sade, many people do not know, has other brilliant writings that have NOTHING to do with sadism. The forward(s) explained ALOT! The cultural context, absence of medicine..., casual death was commonplace. Disease was rampant, infant mortality, death in childbirth; people didn't bathe, brush their teeth, wash their hair...syphillis may have accounted for alot of the madness in the upper classes at this time, leprosy, disfigurements, poverty-stricken families...famine, war. Simply put, I believe the Marquis de Sade was truly a product of his time. He chose to see and expose the worst of humanity, because he had seen the worst. He had a military career as a very young man, & I posit it affected him in profound, disturbing ways.... It seems his wife, (& other lovers along the way), had no problem accepting him as he was...but there were these abberant violent episodes, manic nightmare writings...a truly tortured man, in my opinion. If he lived today, I have no doubt he would be found to have syphillis or another brain destroying disease...and mentally ill, perhaps w/PTSD.Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
Great reading. A classic
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Beond xxx
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
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