Sade, Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de

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Sade, Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de (1740–1814) French novelist and playwright. De Sade is one of the founders of the modern French prose style. Imprisoned for sexual offences, he wrote many novels renowned for their licentiousness, among them Justine (1791) and Juliette (1797).