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Sade
French
Pocket Book
First published January 1, 1994
1 person is currently reading
20 people want to read
About the author
Chantal Thomas
69 books36 followersChantal Thomas (born 1945 in Lyon) is a French writer and historian. Her 2002 book, Farewell, My Queen, won the Prix Femina and was adapted into a 2012 film starring Diane Kruger and Léa Seydoux.
Thomas was born in Lyon in 1945, and was raised in Arcachon, Bordeaux, and Paris. Her life has included teaching jobs at American and French universities (such as Yale and Princeton) as well as a publishing career. She has published nineteen works, including essays on the Marquis de Sade, Casanova, and Marie Antoinette.
In 2002, Thomas published Les adieux à la reine (Farewell, My Queen). The novel gave a fictional account of the final days of Marie Antoinette in power through the perspective of one of her servants. It won the Prix Femina in 2002, and was later adapted into the 2012 film Farewell, My Queen. The film stars Diane Kruger as the titular queen and Léa Seydoux as her servant Sidonie Laborde. Thomas co-wrote the screenplay,and it opened the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival. Helen Falconer of The Guardian called the work "a well written slice of history" with "evocative, observant prose," but criticized it for creating a narrator who "merely provides us with a pair of eyes to see through rather than capturing our interest in her own right." While disagreeing in its classification as a novel, Falconer did however add that Farewell, My Queen "generates in the reader a real sense of being a fly on the wall, eavesdropping on the affairs of the great and the not so good."
Thomas is currently the director of research at the French National Centre for Scientific Research.
(from Wikipedia)
Thomas was born in Lyon in 1945, and was raised in Arcachon, Bordeaux, and Paris. Her life has included teaching jobs at American and French universities (such as Yale and Princeton) as well as a publishing career. She has published nineteen works, including essays on the Marquis de Sade, Casanova, and Marie Antoinette.
In 2002, Thomas published Les adieux à la reine (Farewell, My Queen). The novel gave a fictional account of the final days of Marie Antoinette in power through the perspective of one of her servants. It won the Prix Femina in 2002, and was later adapted into the 2012 film Farewell, My Queen. The film stars Diane Kruger as the titular queen and Léa Seydoux as her servant Sidonie Laborde. Thomas co-wrote the screenplay,and it opened the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival. Helen Falconer of The Guardian called the work "a well written slice of history" with "evocative, observant prose," but criticized it for creating a narrator who "merely provides us with a pair of eyes to see through rather than capturing our interest in her own right." While disagreeing in its classification as a novel, Falconer did however add that Farewell, My Queen "generates in the reader a real sense of being a fly on the wall, eavesdropping on the affairs of the great and the not so good."
Thomas is currently the director of research at the French National Centre for Scientific Research.
(from Wikipedia)
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 3, 2014
I've read this book for my M.A. thesis on Marquis de Sade with whole bunch of other biographic books about him and I can honestly say that this one is one of the best biographies of this 18th century philosopher and writer. I recommend it to anyone seeking trusty source on Sade's life story.
October 19, 2024
74 years Monsieur le Marquis fought for the freedom of freely experiencing pleasure in all its facets. Mostly he did so through a goose quill inking page after page with his beautiful handwriting of erudite and eloquent speech and stories from one of his many prison cells. Imprisoned for exactly such pleasurable experiences. When the Bastille fell (he was released just a few days short of said fall), he heard shouts of « Liberté » in all the streets and yet he shook his head as it was anything short of what he understood of freedom.
Marquis de Sade knew very well how to paint in words the battle of the classes and the suffering (yet is it if enjoyed, as his characters claim so many times). Amazingly his portrait of women is a master piece in showcasing the true struggle of being female and yet men do get their fair share no less yet remain « alive » some how (but possibly to die of a rotten disease later on —- so who’s the winner?).
Wondering what the Marquis would think of his name turned into an adjective that fuels a whole industry? Yet, he might be lucky to still meet a few true libertines!
Marquis de Sade knew very well how to paint in words the battle of the classes and the suffering (yet is it if enjoyed, as his characters claim so many times). Amazingly his portrait of women is a master piece in showcasing the true struggle of being female and yet men do get their fair share no less yet remain « alive » some how (but possibly to die of a rotten disease later on —- so who’s the winner?).
Wondering what the Marquis would think of his name turned into an adjective that fuels a whole industry? Yet, he might be lucky to still meet a few true libertines!
February 5, 2013
Biografia muito bem investigada do Marquês de Sade. Quem foi esse homem e o que está por detrás da sua obra. Um livro interessante que traça o percurso do "divino" marquês, as suas inspirações para a sua filosofia e as suas obras literárias que, séculos depois, continuam a ser alvo de estudo e análises.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews