Incest (Alma Classics)

This is the most realistic portrayal of a predator and a trusting young girl. As a victim of statutory rape, I have seen far too many unrealistic depictions of young girls falling for teachers (or whatever) while facing the society around them with resentment and contempt. Young girls often trust older men, lap up their affection, never question it and often keep it secret. This little novella illustrates a predator’s sick grooming and decent into madness with stunning realism. Thank the literature gods for perverts like De Saude.

The Marquis de Sade wrote some ground breaking erotic literature, that can't be denied. He liked to thumb his nose at the Church. But this story was not one of his best. It's about a man who raises his daughter, isolated from her mother, and trains her to be his personal consort. Weird story.

This is one of my favorite pieces DeSade ever produced. If you want to understand sexual deviancy and paraphilias, you must take a lesson from the master himself. Highly recommended.

Now I've read de Sade; I certainly wasn't missing anything!

A highly censored/editted version. Good for those interested in the Marquis's work that don't have the stomach for his usual graphic descriptions.

Originally published in English by Bantam Books in 1964 in The Crimes of Love book as Eugenie de Franval. This short story describes how one amoral man's plan to create the perfectly libertine daughter ends in disaster.As one of de Sade's earlier works, it has the typical Justine character in Madame Franval. Pious, loving her indifferent husband without question, and in all manners virtuous. The proto-Juliette figure is seen in Eugenie, raised to spurn religion, laugh at social customs, and to embrace vices. The third primary character is Eugenie's father, de Franval. It could be inferred that this character is portraying de Sade, trying to create the perfect woman, but failing in the end.Unlike the 1000 page plus tomes of Juliette and Justine, this story does enable the reader to get the gist of de Sade's sophistry in a page or two, rather than the normal 10 page single character dissertations found in other writings.Overall, a good introduction to de Sade, without the descriptive sexual escapades he is famous for, in fact a made for TV movie could be made without any editing due to content. If you are interested in this book, I would recommend purchasing the aforementioned "Crimes of Love."

No one I know has ever praised the Marquis de Sade's unique style, so I didn't expect a pile of prose outlining a beautiful love story which just happens to involve a father and daughter. If you wish to read this book, it's best to go in with an open mind and an idea of the subject. This book explores the ideas behind incest and what it does to corrupt the parties involved. Be prepared for deep thought and disgust.The story moves quickly, making it easy to read. The dialogue is interesting, and the characters believable, at least until the end. I'm no fan of "deus ex machina," and this is no exception. Belief is suspended when the villain of the book suddenly decides he's done enough harm to his family and the story ends.For a cultural experience, an excellent read. As a life-enriching novel, easily skipped. Read a crime-drama novel instead.

For artfulness alone, and pure freedom, or should I say boldness, of thought, the Marquis De Sade earns five stars for this work and everything else he's written (except of course "Oxtiern," which is, admittedly, dreadful). In this age of hum-drum prose, hacks, and politically-correct morons, Sade's works serve as much needed escapism. As for the below criticism, that Sade is overrated because he doesn't describe graphic sex--a comment like that only means its author hasn't read "120 Days of Sodom," or "Justine," or "Juliette"--whose lewdness would make even the devil blush.