Incest

Donatien Alphonse François Marquis de Sade wurde 1740 geboren und verbrachte 27 Jahre seines Lebens in Haft: anfangs auf Betreiben seiner Schwiegereltern, später wegen seiner Schriften auf Veranlassung der Revolutionsregierung. Mit schonungsloser Offenheit schildert er die meist verborgenen menschlichen Veranlagungen zur Perversion. Apollinaire sagte über ihn: "Es kann wohl sein, dass dieser Mensch, der das ganze 19. Jahrhundert hindurch nichts galt, das 20. Jahrhundert beherrschen wird."

"Incest "is a chilling tale of sexual experimentation and philosophical exploration carried to its most logical--and devastating--extreme. Marquis de Sade's semi-autobiographical protagonist, Monsieur de Franval, is rich, handsome, intelligent, and thoroughly immoral. When he marries a pious woman and fathers a daughter, he is determined to educate his progeny to be "free." The ultimate proof of his daughter's unfettered liberty? That she become his secret lover. But when the beautiful and accomplished daughter spurns an eligible young bachelor, instead declaring her intention to remain with her father, her naive and doting mother's suspicions are at last aroused. Confused and distressed by her daughter's behavior, Madame de Franval confronts her husband--with tragic results. A challenging and breathtaking masterpiece, " Incest" is a sober portrait of catastrophe in the midst of excess.

Foreword by Janet Street-Porter; Introduction; Incest; Biographical note