This collected volume presents three major works by the controversial Enlightenment writer Marquis de Sade, whose fiction challenged the moral, political, and religious assumptions of eighteenth-century Europe.
Included here are Justine, The 120 Days of Sodom, and Florville and Courval, works that together illustrate the philosophical extremity and provocative imagination that made de Sade one of the most debated figures in the history of literature. Written during a period of political upheaval in France, these narratives combine elements of philosophical speculation, satire, and narrative experiment while exploring the boundaries of authority, virtue, power, and moral responsibility.
Justine recounts the misfortunes of a young woman whose steadfast commitment to virtue repeatedly brings her into conflict with a corrupt society. The 120 Days of Sodom, one of de Sade's most infamous works, presents a grim exploration of tyranny and excess set within an isolated fortress where powerful figures exercise absolute control. In contrast, Florville and Courval unfolds as a dramatic narrative of fate, guilt, and tragic discovery.
Taken together, these works reveal the unsettling philosophical questions that lie at the centre of de Sade's writing. Though long controversial, his works have remained influential in discussions of Enlightenment thought, literary transgression, and the complex relationship between freedom, morality, and power.