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mrfish
08-16-2009, 04:11 AM
a novel by the French writer and nobleman Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade, written in 1785. It tells the story of four wealthy male libertines who resolve to experience the ultimate in orgies. To do this, they seal themselves away for four months in an inaccessible castle with a harem of 46 victims, mostly young male and female teenagers, and engage four women brothel keepers to tell the stories of their lives and adventures. The women's narratives form an inspiration for the sexual abuse and torture of the victims, which gradually mounts in intensity and ends in their slaughter.
The work remained unpublished until the twentieth century. In recent times it has been translated into many languages, including English, Japanese and German. Due to its themes of sexual violence and cruelty, it has frequently been banned.

Sade wrote The 120 Days of Sodom in the space of thirty-seven days in 1785 while he was imprisoned in the Bastille. Being short of writing materials and fearing confiscation, he wrote it in tiny writing on a continuous, twelve-metre long roll of paper. When the Bastille was stormed and looted on July 14, 1789 during the height of the French Revolution, Sade believed the work was lost forever and later wrote that he "wept tears of blood" over its loss.

However, the long roll of paper on which it was written was later found hidden in his cell, having escaped the attentions of the looters. It was first published in 1904 by the Berlin psychiatrist Iwan Bloch (who used a pseudonym 'Dr. Eugen Dühren' to avoid controversy). It was not until the latter half of the 20th century that it became more widely available in countries such as United Kingdom, the USA and France. The original manuscript is currently located in the Bibliotheca Bodmeriana, Geneva, Switzerland.

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/0099629607.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

http://rapidshare.com/files/267969917/120_days_of_sodom.pdf

timbo
09-04-2009, 08:17 AM
I wonder if any of his other works are out there ?

"Juliette" - I consider it one of De Sade's best and miles better than the more popular, but undeniably more repetitive, '120 Days in Sodom'.
I can only assume that most people skipped through the pages in a rush or find his style of prose in 'Juliette' too frantic to keep up with.
For my money (along with the classic 'Justine'), this tome has the lot.
It's an orgy of the Marquis's most extreme fantasises, intermixed with philosophical rants - at times, this combination can be extremely humorous.
I think people neglect the fact that De Sade had a wicked sense of humour and this is mostly evident in 'Juliette'. This is probably the most extreme book I've ever read, in terms of sex and violence alone, everything since has appeared tame and mundane.

I see that Juliette is ....1216 pages !
Justine is ....... 753 pages !

Dr. Bendo
09-10-2009, 11:20 AM
The 120 days was of course never finished,the latter part being merely sketched out.I find the style too clinical to be either shocking or arousing and some of his Ideas such as removing someone's brain whilst having anal sex with are just too ridiculous.

davvo555
07-25-2010, 01:31 AM
Interesting nontheless.

anikim
03-10-2011, 08:39 PM
Thanks for the links. I have always wanted to read this book.