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Gothic Tales
Amongst the most accessible of Sade's fiction, the stories in this collection range from the dramatic novella 'Eugenie de Franval' to comic tales such as 'The Husband Who Played Priest'.
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1965
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1307 people want to read
About the author
Marquis de Sade
627 books2,281 followersA preoccupation with sexual violence characterizes novels, plays, and short stories that Donatien Alphonse François, comte de Sade but known as marquis de Sade, of France wrote. After this writer derives the word sadism, the deriving of sexual gratification from fantasies or acts that involve causing other persons to suffer physical or mental pain.
This aristocrat, revolutionary politician, and philosopher exhibited famous libertine lifestyle.
His works include dialogues and political tracts; in his lifetime, he published some works under his own name and denied authorship of apparently anonymous other works. His best erotic works combined philosophical discourse with pornography and depicted fantasies with an emphasis on criminality and blasphemy against the Catholic Church. Morality, religion or law restrained not his "extreme freedom." Various prisons and an insane asylum incarcerated the aristocrat for 32 years of his life: ten years in the Bastile, another year elsewhere in Paris, a month in Conciergerie, two years in a fortress, a year in Madelonnettes, three years in Bicêtre, a year in Sainte-Pélagie, and 13 years in the Charenton asylum. During the French revolution, people elected this criminal as delegate to the National Convention. He wrote many of his works in prison.
This aristocrat, revolutionary politician, and philosopher exhibited famous libertine lifestyle.
His works include dialogues and political tracts; in his lifetime, he published some works under his own name and denied authorship of apparently anonymous other works. His best erotic works combined philosophical discourse with pornography and depicted fantasies with an emphasis on criminality and blasphemy against the Catholic Church. Morality, religion or law restrained not his "extreme freedom." Various prisons and an insane asylum incarcerated the aristocrat for 32 years of his life: ten years in the Bastile, another year elsewhere in Paris, a month in Conciergerie, two years in a fortress, a year in Madelonnettes, three years in Bicêtre, a year in Sainte-Pélagie, and 13 years in the Charenton asylum. During the French revolution, people elected this criminal as delegate to the National Convention. He wrote many of his works in prison.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews
April 13, 2025
Shooketh
May 29, 2018
I truly enjoyed this book of short stories. The Marquise stories were not what I expected. It was as if reading a aesops fables for adults! Lol they were well written and captivating. I will definitely be delving more into his other work.
June 13, 2024
In the film Quills, the Abbe retorts to the Marquis De Sade as follows:
‘Don’t flatter yourself. You’re not the anti-Christ. You’re nothing but a malcontent who knows how to spell.’
It was a shrewd piece of literary criticism. Despite occasional attempts to wring a drop of humanism from the Marquis’s work, it never convinces, and for a fairly simple reason: his stock of events and characters was as thin as a pencil.
Calling these ‘tales’ is a severe blunder. A tale has a start, a middle, and an end. Sade’s fictions in general - and ‘Eugenie De Franval’ and ‘Florville and Courval’ in particular - aren’t tales. They’re a string of lectures, seemingly written in starch instead of ink:
’I am not unaware, madame, that the pretexts for your scene were the odious suspicions that your dare to form about me, but fantasies do not justify crimes; what you thought is false, but what you have done is unfortunately only too real. You are surprised at the reproaches that my daughter addressed to you concerning your irregular conduct only after the whole of Paris has done so; this state of affairs is so well known ... the proofs are unfortunately so consistent, that those who speak about it are guilty at the most of imprudence but not of calumny.’
‘Don’t flatter yourself. You’re not the anti-Christ. You’re nothing but a malcontent who knows how to spell.’
It was a shrewd piece of literary criticism. Despite occasional attempts to wring a drop of humanism from the Marquis’s work, it never convinces, and for a fairly simple reason: his stock of events and characters was as thin as a pencil.
Calling these ‘tales’ is a severe blunder. A tale has a start, a middle, and an end. Sade’s fictions in general - and ‘Eugenie De Franval’ and ‘Florville and Courval’ in particular - aren’t tales. They’re a string of lectures, seemingly written in starch instead of ink:
’I am not unaware, madame, that the pretexts for your scene were the odious suspicions that your dare to form about me, but fantasies do not justify crimes; what you thought is false, but what you have done is unfortunately only too real. You are surprised at the reproaches that my daughter addressed to you concerning your irregular conduct only after the whole of Paris has done so; this state of affairs is so well known ... the proofs are unfortunately so consistent, that those who speak about it are guilty at the most of imprudence but not of calumny.’
November 5, 2025
3.5 ✨ more like. And review to come.
June 17, 2024
Soooo wonderful. Gothic Tales contains a handful of work by de Sade, of which the novellas Eugénie de Franval and Florville and Courval make up the bulk of it. This was my first collection by the author, and they were so much fun! The work is disparate enough in tone that I can say assuredly that the term "gothic tales" is more to sell copies than anything (the original title, Eugénie de Franval and Other Stories is far more appropriate, though far less likely to be taken to check out). Much of the delight in these stories is the melodrama—It reminded me of how fun reading early 18th-century work like Love in Excess could be—and the stories often ran like a contemporary telenovela.
The fun of it all could be obscured by the bits of real horror, of which the first novella, Eugénie de Franval takes the bulk of. While sometimes obscured by the ridiculousness of the situation, de Sade writes moments of real hand-over-mouth disgust, surprise, and terror that somehow transcend the 200 years since his words were written. His style is dated, there's no argument, but what I love about 18th-century work is that political and religious diatribe, of which de Sade has much to say. His mind is fascinating: how unique it is to read true moral ambiguities from a man born half a century before the French Revolution! To explore these big questions through sex and the institutions we have built around them! I must read the rest of his work!
The only real criticism I can make against this book is the introduction, which is more a statement on this edition being simply a reproduction of previous publishing houses' work. The work as it stands was first translated in 1965 by Margaret Crosland for Neville Spearman Ltd., who wrote a small introduction for the 1990 edition when Peter Owen Publishers owned the rights. This introduction is extremely poor and does not appropriately introduce the material in the book as it should, which is especially egregious as it's both a collection of stories written throughout his life AND written by someone whose infamy precedes himself. Doing some digging, it seems Pushkin Press has bought the Peter Owen press and simply made a reproduction of the last edition :( If you are going to hold the translated rights to a genre as complicated as the Libertines please do it some justice and hire a proper academic to write a proper introduction!
Thank you NetGalley for this ARC <3
The fun of it all could be obscured by the bits of real horror, of which the first novella, Eugénie de Franval takes the bulk of. While sometimes obscured by the ridiculousness of the situation, de Sade writes moments of real hand-over-mouth disgust, surprise, and terror that somehow transcend the 200 years since his words were written. His style is dated, there's no argument, but what I love about 18th-century work is that political and religious diatribe, of which de Sade has much to say. His mind is fascinating: how unique it is to read true moral ambiguities from a man born half a century before the French Revolution! To explore these big questions through sex and the institutions we have built around them! I must read the rest of his work!
The only real criticism I can make against this book is the introduction, which is more a statement on this edition being simply a reproduction of previous publishing houses' work. The work as it stands was first translated in 1965 by Margaret Crosland for Neville Spearman Ltd., who wrote a small introduction for the 1990 edition when Peter Owen Publishers owned the rights. This introduction is extremely poor and does not appropriately introduce the material in the book as it should, which is especially egregious as it's both a collection of stories written throughout his life AND written by someone whose infamy precedes himself. Doing some digging, it seems Pushkin Press has bought the Peter Owen press and simply made a reproduction of the last edition :( If you are going to hold the translated rights to a genre as complicated as the Libertines please do it some justice and hire a proper academic to write a proper introduction!
Thank you NetGalley for this ARC <3
October 2, 2025
(DNF at 45% or whatever)
I HATE THAT THIS IS THE BOOK THAT COMPLETES MY READING CHALLENGE :-:
So this book was marketed completely wrong. Nothing about these stories is gothic, this is a glorification of p3dophilia. Somewhere within the first 20 pages, I started looking up who Sade is and by God this man is an absolute maniac.
The book starts with an essay that describes that Sade was perhaps misunderstood in his time and that his more extreme, libertine tastes was more a reflection of his sexual desires that were not accepted by the church and were seen as blasphemous. What I thought that meant was that he was not pious, perhaps used mild forms of CONSENTUAL torture as pleasure, and maybe a little queer. What it actually meant is that this man has a whole track record of almost every crime save from murder such as locking up and torturing prostitutes, flagellation without consent, etc. etc. etc. and was probably looking to loosen up political restrictions so he could not be punished for having sex against women's consent (and probably sexually abuse minors)
Then I tried to get back into it again, despite the first story being of a man grooming his own daughter and deciding to court her and make her kill her own mother, and I couldn't help but think "Hey, isn't this just a fantasy of his?" Then I looked further into it, found out that Ted BUNDY (??????) of all fucking people idolised his work and also his most controversial story (which thank GOD isn't in this bundle) was found on the desk of JEFFREY EPSTEIN?????? IM SORRY????
After that I couldn't properly read this anymore. All the men are creeps (and in his writing Sade makes is ABUNDANTLY CLEAR he KNOWS THEY'RE CREEPS) and all girls that are younger than 22 are seen as sexual objects, describes as "pure, virginial, untouched" etc. etc. yikesyikesyikesyikes the faces I pulled while reading this shit.... I need to bleach my eyeballs. I'm not shy of reading problematic characters if they're handled well and with integrity but it felt I was reading something that even Satan himself would feel nauseous about.
Absolutely the most disguisting piece of literature I've ever read. And next to that, the writing is boring as fuck from a textual standpoint too. Nothing here says anything poignant.
I want to actually burn my copy of this book so it will never have to exist anymore. What a waste of paper and ink. And what a waste of an absolutely gorgeous cover.
I HATE THAT THIS IS THE BOOK THAT COMPLETES MY READING CHALLENGE :-:
So this book was marketed completely wrong. Nothing about these stories is gothic, this is a glorification of p3dophilia. Somewhere within the first 20 pages, I started looking up who Sade is and by God this man is an absolute maniac.
The book starts with an essay that describes that Sade was perhaps misunderstood in his time and that his more extreme, libertine tastes was more a reflection of his sexual desires that were not accepted by the church and were seen as blasphemous. What I thought that meant was that he was not pious, perhaps used mild forms of CONSENTUAL torture as pleasure, and maybe a little queer. What it actually meant is that this man has a whole track record of almost every crime save from murder such as locking up and torturing prostitutes, flagellation without consent, etc. etc. etc. and was probably looking to loosen up political restrictions so he could not be punished for having sex against women's consent (and probably sexually abuse minors)
Then I tried to get back into it again, despite the first story being of a man grooming his own daughter and deciding to court her and make her kill her own mother, and I couldn't help but think "Hey, isn't this just a fantasy of his?" Then I looked further into it, found out that Ted BUNDY (??????) of all fucking people idolised his work and also his most controversial story (which thank GOD isn't in this bundle) was found on the desk of JEFFREY EPSTEIN?????? IM SORRY????
After that I couldn't properly read this anymore. All the men are creeps (and in his writing Sade makes is ABUNDANTLY CLEAR he KNOWS THEY'RE CREEPS) and all girls that are younger than 22 are seen as sexual objects, describes as "pure, virginial, untouched" etc. etc. yikesyikesyikesyikes the faces I pulled while reading this shit.... I need to bleach my eyeballs. I'm not shy of reading problematic characters if they're handled well and with integrity but it felt I was reading something that even Satan himself would feel nauseous about.
Absolutely the most disguisting piece of literature I've ever read. And next to that, the writing is boring as fuck from a textual standpoint too. Nothing here says anything poignant.
I want to actually burn my copy of this book so it will never have to exist anymore. What a waste of paper and ink. And what a waste of an absolutely gorgeous cover.
July 17, 2024
"Habit modifies it, conscience for us is like pliable wax which assumes all shapes in our hands; if this book were as infallible as you say, would man not have an unvarying conscience?"
Honestly, the introduction is probably my favorite part of the book. I do feel like Marquis de Sade's stories are simply not for me, even though I understand his exploration of libertine philosophies and the implications of sadism as a concept.
That being said, this anthology is much more accessible and almost like a bedtime story compared to 120 Days of Sodom. I feel that if there's a Marquis de Sade book to read just to get the essence of the themes and ideas he espouses, this one is best to start off with since it's not very gratuitous (and I still wouldn't recommend it if you overall hate degeneracy no matter what, check out the trigger warnings).
Eugenie de Franval and The Horse-Chestnut Flower stuck with me the most, the rest are a little boring. Thank you Pushkin Press and NetGalley for the eARC, all opinions are my own.
Honestly, the introduction is probably my favorite part of the book. I do feel like Marquis de Sade's stories are simply not for me, even though I understand his exploration of libertine philosophies and the implications of sadism as a concept.
That being said, this anthology is much more accessible and almost like a bedtime story compared to 120 Days of Sodom. I feel that if there's a Marquis de Sade book to read just to get the essence of the themes and ideas he espouses, this one is best to start off with since it's not very gratuitous (and I still wouldn't recommend it if you overall hate degeneracy no matter what, check out the trigger warnings).
Eugenie de Franval and The Horse-Chestnut Flower stuck with me the most, the rest are a little boring. Thank you Pushkin Press and NetGalley for the eARC, all opinions are my own.
April 26, 2012
While waiting for "50 Shades of Gray" to come in at the library, I went on a little Sade kick! This just goes to show that by no means is society *more* perverse now. We've always been warped, now we simply have the means and lack of grace to kiss and tell to the masses. Great book! I actually like that it was completely descriptive. There's something to be said for letting one's imagination fill in the blanks! I would recommend these to anyone that likes erotica, Sade is the Father of the genre as far as I'm concerned!
May 28, 2024
A charming collection - a republished set of stories curated and translated by Margaret Crosland - that kept me entertained from start to finish. I think these are ultimately lesser de Sade (would anyone contend otherwise) but there’s so much humor and pathos even in this brief sojourn into the Marquis’ slightly less perverse territory. These are juicy tales nonetheless - perhaps less erotic than reader expectations may portend - but worthwhile in the man’s body of work nonetheless.
If anything I wish there had been more supplementary material - I would’ve happily read more criticism and context, either recycled writings by Crosland or new works by contemporary writers, in the vein of other recent republications. As is, this is the right length, and a lovely new collection for a new generation who aren’t quite in the mood for Justine or Sodom, which is certainly reasonable.
Thanks to Pushkin Press and NetGalley for providing this eARC in exchange for my honest review.
If anything I wish there had been more supplementary material - I would’ve happily read more criticism and context, either recycled writings by Crosland or new works by contemporary writers, in the vein of other recent republications. As is, this is the right length, and a lovely new collection for a new generation who aren’t quite in the mood for Justine or Sodom, which is certainly reasonable.
Thanks to Pushkin Press and NetGalley for providing this eARC in exchange for my honest review.
October 1, 2017
de Sade had a lot of time on his hands. He ran a little run in with his powerful mother-in-law, who had him shackled in prison then he spent the last years of his life in an insane asylum for his behavior and writing. He most likely was not truly insane. In fact I think he’s rather brilliant if these stories are anything to go by.
The Marquis has quite reputation, and no argument, it’s well deserved; but what is not discussed is his judgement of society. Every story has a moral. He seems to be saying, “where is your soul? What happened to innocence? Why is no one virtuous anymore?” Instead everyone was down in the dregs.
Of course de Sade lived at a time when vice and ruin were rampant. Theft was how one survived. Bodies were sold- alive or dead. And sex-well, everyone was doing it, right so why not talk about it?
Translated from the French this book is a soft introduction to his writing. There is nothing too graphic, nothing too over the top. All stories will have you digging for a contemporary theme to apply not only during the late 1700s but possibly the 2010s.
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
The Marquis has quite reputation, and no argument, it’s well deserved; but what is not discussed is his judgement of society. Every story has a moral. He seems to be saying, “where is your soul? What happened to innocence? Why is no one virtuous anymore?” Instead everyone was down in the dregs.
Of course de Sade lived at a time when vice and ruin were rampant. Theft was how one survived. Bodies were sold- alive or dead. And sex-well, everyone was doing it, right so why not talk about it?
Translated from the French this book is a soft introduction to his writing. There is nothing too graphic, nothing too over the top. All stories will have you digging for a contemporary theme to apply not only during the late 1700s but possibly the 2010s.
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
November 1, 2024
Turns out I’ve read most of these stories before, but it makes sense to repackage them here for their gothic themes and add a pleasing cover. My hope springs eternal, with each new edition, that Sade gets placed in his rightful political context, his radical philosophy that’s more dangerous than any pornography.
For example, in “Eugénie de Franval,” you get people who bail at “ugh, incest” (which: fair) without ever making the connection that for dozens and dozens of pages Sade is setting up the parallels of a god that would supposedly create in his image and then confine his creation to an infantile, subservient existence, call it love, and give free reign to a government that exploits that theology to oppress its citizens. If incest sickens us, then why are we not disturbed by that? And so on, using individual cruelty to illustrate the cruelty of church and state, ripping at the seams of civility and rattling the chains.
I relish Sade for his boldness; I’m disturbed by Sade for the same. If Justine or Juliette is too daunting, then his short stories are an adequate aperitif. (Although Philosophy in the Bedroom is still the best introduction to Sade’s themes, IMO.)
ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
For example, in “Eugénie de Franval,” you get people who bail at “ugh, incest” (which: fair) without ever making the connection that for dozens and dozens of pages Sade is setting up the parallels of a god that would supposedly create in his image and then confine his creation to an infantile, subservient existence, call it love, and give free reign to a government that exploits that theology to oppress its citizens. If incest sickens us, then why are we not disturbed by that? And so on, using individual cruelty to illustrate the cruelty of church and state, ripping at the seams of civility and rattling the chains.
I relish Sade for his boldness; I’m disturbed by Sade for the same. If Justine or Juliette is too daunting, then his short stories are an adequate aperitif. (Although Philosophy in the Bedroom is still the best introduction to Sade’s themes, IMO.)
ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Read
June 1, 2015A fascinating blend of high-minded ideology and smut. I think my favorite stories were Fatality and The Self-Made Cuckold. Fatality was just a fantasticly knotted tragedy that would have made the Classical Greeks weep with pride, and the Self-Made Cuckold was funny and rather satisfying in its back-handed defense of women's rights, such as they were. I found that this book was a real page turner, and that once I got into the groove of the slightly flowery language, the stories fairly flew by. These stories are also quite a bit more tame than some of the Marquis de Sade's other, longer stories, so this book might serve as a good introduction for those who are interested in de Sade's work, but don't want to shock their systems by jumping right into the darker stuff, like 120 Days of Sodom or The Philosophy of the Bedroom. I recommend it highly.
April 21, 2022
The collection of stories from the Marquis de Sade in this book was philosophically intriguing. This book did have moments and even complete stories that disturbed me, but it also had moments that inspired me. None more than the "wicked" Madame de Verquin in Florville and Courval. Her lack of regret and fear when facing her own death was powerful. "I want to teach your pious friends that one can die peacefully without being like them... it is not religion we need before we can die in peace, but only courage and reason."
But I will say the repeated r*pes and *nc*st was incredibly hard to get through. And I hated how passive and pitiful the women were in his writing. It was a classic "men describing women". Bitch. Women suffer and bleed and push out human beings. They would not be fainting at every inconvenience.
But I will say the repeated r*pes and *nc*st was incredibly hard to get through. And I hated how passive and pitiful the women were in his writing. It was a classic "men describing women". Bitch. Women suffer and bleed and push out human beings. They would not be fainting at every inconvenience.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 14, 2025
Ended up enjoying this way more than I had expected. Ofc the themes make you feel uncomfortable at times, but the writing style was easy to follow. The philosophical questions the book poses were very interesting, especially in the story "Florville and Courval". This story considers the need for virtue (like in many stories of de Sade) and uses madame de Verquin as an example of what will happen when we abandon virtue. I felt like I could predict what would happen at the end of this story, but then there were five more unsettling plot twist which made the story even crazier. Would recommend :)
July 30, 2024
Also on Snow White Hates Apples.
I’m entirely at fault for taking this book entirely at cover value (and for not remembering sooner who Marquis de Sade is) because heavens, what a misleadingly titled book this turned out to be!
Maybe I’m wrong, but from what I understand, what makes gothic fiction is largely its atmosphere which has a prevailing mystery and terror, the setting and elements of the paranormal and supernatural. I had expected a book with such characteristics, only to be utterly blindsided by ‘ Eugenie de Franval ‘, the first short story which prominently features incest, paedophilia and toxic relationships.
Suffice it to say, this set the tone for the rest of the collection which also includes scenes of rape, kidnapping, gaslighting, adultery and more. So, rather than a collection of gothic tales, I think it would be more apt to describe this as a collection of red flags and trigger warnings masquerading as questionably “humorous” or didactic short stories. Or, to put it in kinder words, a collection of fictional works that’s the 2020s dark romance of the 1800s/mostly sadistic erotica but written in the way one would write impassioned philosophical contemplations between virtue and vice, piety and depravity.
Nevertheless, I could objectively appreciate the gorgeous writing and philosophical aspects of Gothic Tales. Marquis de Sade had a beautiful way with words and his critique of the society in his day gave much food for thought. For me, ‘ Florville and Courval ‘ best displayed these aspects, plus it had an emotional impact the other pieces in this collection severely lacked.
This collection includes all the following titles:
– ‘ Eugenie de Franval ‘
– ‘ The Horse-Chestnut Flower ‘
– ‘ The Chastised Husband ‘
– ‘ Florville and Courval ‘
– ‘ The Husband who Played Priest ‘
– ‘ Emilie de Tourville ‘
– ‘ Room for Two ‘
– ‘ The Self-Made Cuckold ‘
I’m entirely at fault for taking this book entirely at cover value (and for not remembering sooner who Marquis de Sade is) because heavens, what a misleadingly titled book this turned out to be!
Maybe I’m wrong, but from what I understand, what makes gothic fiction is largely its atmosphere which has a prevailing mystery and terror, the setting and elements of the paranormal and supernatural. I had expected a book with such characteristics, only to be utterly blindsided by ‘ Eugenie de Franval ‘, the first short story which prominently features incest, paedophilia and toxic relationships.
Suffice it to say, this set the tone for the rest of the collection which also includes scenes of rape, kidnapping, gaslighting, adultery and more. So, rather than a collection of gothic tales, I think it would be more apt to describe this as a collection of red flags and trigger warnings masquerading as questionably “humorous” or didactic short stories. Or, to put it in kinder words, a collection of fictional works that’s the 2020s dark romance of the 1800s/mostly sadistic erotica but written in the way one would write impassioned philosophical contemplations between virtue and vice, piety and depravity.
Nevertheless, I could objectively appreciate the gorgeous writing and philosophical aspects of Gothic Tales. Marquis de Sade had a beautiful way with words and his critique of the society in his day gave much food for thought. For me, ‘ Florville and Courval ‘ best displayed these aspects, plus it had an emotional impact the other pieces in this collection severely lacked.
This collection includes all the following titles:
– ‘ Eugenie de Franval ‘
– ‘ The Horse-Chestnut Flower ‘
– ‘ The Chastised Husband ‘
– ‘ Florville and Courval ‘
– ‘ The Husband who Played Priest ‘
– ‘ Emilie de Tourville ‘
– ‘ Room for Two ‘
– ‘ The Self-Made Cuckold ‘
Many thanks to Pushkin Press and Netgalley for providing me a copy of this in exchange for an honest review! Gothic Tales by Marquis de Sade will be available at all good bookstores.
September 23, 2024
Amoral or moral? You decide the Marquis's intentions. Not for the squeamish.
I've attempted de Sade before and always come away unable to complete (smutty joke intended). I wasn't actually aware of the content of these stories before starting, Gothic Tales to me meant something else, though I was actually pleased to discover this was very readable, and definitely had the genre feel of the Marquis throughout.
A set of short stories, some 2 pages long, others 50, all with the tone and content the name conjures up, but nothing that takes it so far to make it impossible to read.
Saying that - there's a whole lot of hellish impure stuff going on in these pages! Fornication, impure relations, and an unexpected amount of moralising.
Some horrifying stories here, a lot of ill-used women and rakish men, and I have to admit at the conclusion of one in particular I laughed aloud as all the threads came together in one fiendishly hellish finale that I now struggle to describe to friends.
It's over the top, it's delightfully amoral, and it really isn't for those who like light beach reads. A classic of its own kind, glad I can finally say I've had a moment with the Marquis.
With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample reading copy.
I've attempted de Sade before and always come away unable to complete (smutty joke intended). I wasn't actually aware of the content of these stories before starting, Gothic Tales to me meant something else, though I was actually pleased to discover this was very readable, and definitely had the genre feel of the Marquis throughout.
A set of short stories, some 2 pages long, others 50, all with the tone and content the name conjures up, but nothing that takes it so far to make it impossible to read.
Saying that - there's a whole lot of hellish impure stuff going on in these pages! Fornication, impure relations, and an unexpected amount of moralising.
Some horrifying stories here, a lot of ill-used women and rakish men, and I have to admit at the conclusion of one in particular I laughed aloud as all the threads came together in one fiendishly hellish finale that I now struggle to describe to friends.
It's over the top, it's delightfully amoral, and it really isn't for those who like light beach reads. A classic of its own kind, glad I can finally say I've had a moment with the Marquis.
With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample reading copy.
May 26, 2024
Thank you Pushkin Press and Netgalley for the ARC!
TWs:
Going into this book without knowing much about Marquis de Sade, it was an interesting way to explore his writing, the contents, and how he explored various concepts like morality, sexual desires, human nature, and philosophies.
The first story, Eugenie de Franval, was the longest of the eight short stories, about 40% of the book, followed by others of various stories. They explore similar concepts through 18th-century writing.
It was interesting to read this and then research about him afterward. I would suggest it, but please know that it can be triggering.
TWs:
Going into this book without knowing much about Marquis de Sade, it was an interesting way to explore his writing, the contents, and how he explored various concepts like morality, sexual desires, human nature, and philosophies.
The first story, Eugenie de Franval, was the longest of the eight short stories, about 40% of the book, followed by others of various stories. They explore similar concepts through 18th-century writing.
It was interesting to read this and then research about him afterward. I would suggest it, but please know that it can be triggering.
May 29, 2024
Thanks to Netgalley and Pushkin Press for the ARC.
I've always been curious about the Marquis de Sade's writings, what with his notorious reputation. And while this isn't his most well known works, the collection was a lot more tame overall. As much as stories about infidelity and incest can be. The first one was easily the most disturbed, if only because it was the longest story, so it spent more time detailing the process of Franvall grooming his daughter, manipulating his wife, and mostly getting away with it. The rest of the stories fell between tragic stories of fatal coincidences, and very short erotic comedies. It was not what I was expecting.
I've always been curious about the Marquis de Sade's writings, what with his notorious reputation. And while this isn't his most well known works, the collection was a lot more tame overall. As much as stories about infidelity and incest can be. The first one was easily the most disturbed, if only because it was the longest story, so it spent more time detailing the process of Franvall grooming his daughter, manipulating his wife, and mostly getting away with it. The rest of the stories fell between tragic stories of fatal coincidences, and very short erotic comedies. It was not what I was expecting.
March 16, 2024
I had already read most of de Sade's more famous, longer-form works before picking up this book. I liked this collection of tales as they blended the aspects of perversion you'd expect from de Sade with humour, wit, philosophy and, as the title suggests, a hint of the Gothic. Not as extreme as some other books of his either, they might be a good place to begin if you are new to his writing. At under 200 pages the book was a quick, easy and enjoyable read. I am giving it four stars.
I received this book as a free eBook ARC via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
I received this book as a free eBook ARC via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
August 27, 2021
"Not quite what I expected" just begins to cover my reaction to this volume. I confess that my knowledge of the Marquis was scant before reading this book. My impressions of him were based solely on connotations of that word derived from his name. These things had me expecting something truly lusty where people were getting their rocks off whipping each other. Though there's no small amount of lust in these stories, and some people enjoying the pain of others, only a couple of the stories are what I would call erotic or arousing.
As the translator's introduction promises, most of the stories are moralistic, sometimes with an heavy hand. The drama is so heavy and the situations are so intriguing that modern day soap opera writers should be jealous. There are also comical stories that might make one blush.
I might not have been so interested in a collection of such stories had I simply heard plain descriptions of them. So, perhaps I should be grateful for my incomplete idea of what the Marquis de Sade was all about.
As the translator's introduction promises, most of the stories are moralistic, sometimes with an heavy hand. The drama is so heavy and the situations are so intriguing that modern day soap opera writers should be jealous. There are also comical stories that might make one blush.
I might not have been so interested in a collection of such stories had I simply heard plain descriptions of them. So, perhaps I should be grateful for my incomplete idea of what the Marquis de Sade was all about.
June 22, 2015
This is a collection of short stories. In relation to the things we have available at the click of a mouse or even turning on the news, De Sade's stories are pretty tame. However, for the time they must have shaken the earth. I am sure there was lots of street lit and pornography available for the masses, only some of which would survive to today. But De Sade was an actual author who wove tales with character development and intrigue. That is why we know his name and not many of the other's. It is a bit peculiar that many of his tales revolve around some sort of incest-at least the longest one in the story does. He was of course writing to shock and that would've done it today and back then. His antagonists are brilliantly developed. If you liked the movie with Geoffrey Rush and Joaquin Phoenix you will probably enjoy his stories.
November 20, 2009
I read this only a few months ago, and enjoyed it. I never fancied his other stuff - Justine, etc - but found his life story interesting. I was a bit dubious about this one at first and expected more of the lecherous material (which I didn't read) for which he is infamous, though it probably reads pretty tame these jaded days. He was condemned by the revolutionary authorities for being too lenient and moderate, and he wrote one of his novels on toilet paper (I think) in the Bastille, hiding it behind a lose brick; it only came to light this century. Anyway, this is a neat collection of traditional Gothic tales, for those who like that sort of thing, which I do. I have a shelf full of them. It was a taste I acquired in my teens, amongst other things.
March 17, 2010
An atypical collection of short stories by de Sade, quasi-religious and reverent, I was utterly moved and shaken by every utterance. If you’re looking for the quintessential de Sade, such as Justin, Juliette, 120 Days of Sodom, you should look elsewhere. Many of the central characters here have redeeming souls and qualities of goodness, are god-fearing, even pious, often moral in choice and deeply self-reflective. In their moments of darkness, despair and desperation, there was also comfort, compassion and consolation.
April 24, 2017
I was expecting more excitement. This version seemed to read quite slow and clunky. This may be a translation issue. Some of the footnotes were distracting rather than helpful. Also my opinion they may prove helpful to some readers.
I will likely try other translations in the future of his stories. The Marquis de Sade does have a great grasp of human emotion and human capacity for stupidity and cruelty. That reason alone, I will pursue more of his work. The themes and ideas are worth the read, but this translation just didn't do it for me.
I will likely try other translations in the future of his stories. The Marquis de Sade does have a great grasp of human emotion and human capacity for stupidity and cruelty. That reason alone, I will pursue more of his work. The themes and ideas are worth the read, but this translation just didn't do it for me.
June 28, 2024
Sometimes, you gotta read the classics, and let me tell you, this one that collects a bunch of debauched bourgeoisie and their goings on is up there for a reason. As evidenced by the title, these are obviously a bit on the dark side, but it's still a treat.
September 23, 2012
Accessible works by de Sade. Excellent place to start if you are interested in his works.
July 31, 2025
Extremely dull
August 23, 2024
There is always a response to be had when reading de Sade, along the lines of reading talk of "crimes so execrable… so horrible in fact that we blush at the necessity to reveal them" and asking in the most sarcastic of tones, "do you really?". But that's a snide response, and the erotic and pornographic is seldom on these pages. Take the first piece here, a fairly lengthy novella with a man entering just the wrong kind of relationship with his daughter. There's no smut here, but what is ultimately a condemnation of evil and sin. There's the comment that "self-interest lies behind all that men do", and the way the daughter is determined to be against marriage, based on all she has been told about what she will and will not get from the arrangement, is not her being gaslighted into incest but a commonsense response to the way society was then.
So you can respond to these pages with an academic head on, and not just Eric Idle's "nudge nudge, wink wink" character's mentality. That said, the second piece here is a one-page shaggy dog story purely designed so that a religious character has to talk about ejaculate. Next, a young lass seeks a way to get her husband on the straight and narrow, what with it seeming that he can easily do wrong by her, but not do right.
So the contents may surprise the reader, but I don't think the style will, not completely. Another novella is the plummiest, most florid story-in-story effort to pile the most amount of gravely serious tragedy onto one character the world has ever seen. But you contrast that with the flippantly irreligious piece that follows, involving a randy priest in a place full of religious rejects, or a quick lark about how a woman got into threesomes – and more sharing closes this selection out. Massive old-fashioned plot contrivances also feature in a further piece that argues how foolishly man tries to paint over a sin with a further, worse one to save face.
In short, this is not the amoral, overly liberal effort many may presume. It's not the most joyous read, and it does certainly labour the point of sexual libertinage quite a bit, but it's not crude, it's not for no reason and it's not a galling bonk-fest with no merit. It has things to say and it says them pretty straightforwardly and well, all considered. I'd give it a foursome of stars.
So you can respond to these pages with an academic head on, and not just Eric Idle's "nudge nudge, wink wink" character's mentality. That said, the second piece here is a one-page shaggy dog story purely designed so that a religious character has to talk about ejaculate. Next, a young lass seeks a way to get her husband on the straight and narrow, what with it seeming that he can easily do wrong by her, but not do right.
So the contents may surprise the reader, but I don't think the style will, not completely. Another novella is the plummiest, most florid story-in-story effort to pile the most amount of gravely serious tragedy onto one character the world has ever seen. But you contrast that with the flippantly irreligious piece that follows, involving a randy priest in a place full of religious rejects, or a quick lark about how a woman got into threesomes – and more sharing closes this selection out. Massive old-fashioned plot contrivances also feature in a further piece that argues how foolishly man tries to paint over a sin with a further, worse one to save face.
In short, this is not the amoral, overly liberal effort many may presume. It's not the most joyous read, and it does certainly labour the point of sexual libertinage quite a bit, but it's not crude, it's not for no reason and it's not a galling bonk-fest with no merit. It has things to say and it says them pretty straightforwardly and well, all considered. I'd give it a foursome of stars.
April 28, 2024
This collection of short fiction is an excellent entry point for the reader wishing to be introduced to the philosophy and literary stylings of the Marquis de Sade. It is less visceral and explicitly violent than the works for which Sade is most famous (i.e. Justine, 12o Days of Sodom, and Philosophy in the Boudoir.) While it does deal in libidinal issues throughout and has a few stories that are explicitly erotica (notably the last couple pieces,) it never ventures up to or over whatever thin line separates erotica from pornography.
While all the pieces share Sade's signature philosophy and interests, it is in other ways a quite diverse collection of writings. The first piece, "Eugenie De Franval," is a novella that takes up about half the book, and it is followed by a piece that, in today's parlance, might be called flash fiction, "The Horse-Chestnut Flower." Pieces such as "Eugenie De Franval" and "Florville and Courval" are tragedies while the comedies include: "Emilie De Tourville,"[granted with grim elements] "The Husband Who Played Priest," "Room for Two," and "The Self-Made Cuckold." Those last three - as well as "The Horse-Chestnut Flower"-- are comedic in a modern sense, not just the literary sense.
I can't say how much of the difference in tone and intensity of these pieces from Sade's other stories is owed to the selected source material and how much is owed to translation and editorial decisions, but it makes for a read that is more intriguing in story and less shocking and disturbing than many other translations of Sade's work.
I enjoyed these stories. They had many clever twists and turns that I don't recall experiencing in Sade's novels. Several stories rely on a great deal of deus ex machina coincidences, but I think that works just fine -- particularly in the more humorous stories. I'd highly recommend this for readers looking to ease into the work of the Marquis de Sade.
While all the pieces share Sade's signature philosophy and interests, it is in other ways a quite diverse collection of writings. The first piece, "Eugenie De Franval," is a novella that takes up about half the book, and it is followed by a piece that, in today's parlance, might be called flash fiction, "The Horse-Chestnut Flower." Pieces such as "Eugenie De Franval" and "Florville and Courval" are tragedies while the comedies include: "Emilie De Tourville,"[granted with grim elements] "The Husband Who Played Priest," "Room for Two," and "The Self-Made Cuckold." Those last three - as well as "The Horse-Chestnut Flower"-- are comedic in a modern sense, not just the literary sense.
I can't say how much of the difference in tone and intensity of these pieces from Sade's other stories is owed to the selected source material and how much is owed to translation and editorial decisions, but it makes for a read that is more intriguing in story and less shocking and disturbing than many other translations of Sade's work.
I enjoyed these stories. They had many clever twists and turns that I don't recall experiencing in Sade's novels. Several stories rely on a great deal of deus ex machina coincidences, but I think that works just fine -- particularly in the more humorous stories. I'd highly recommend this for readers looking to ease into the work of the Marquis de Sade.
June 21, 2024
★
Prior to this, I had never read any of Sade’s work. I’m not sure I ever will again.
His writing interweaves sexuality and behavior/emotions as a sort of psychological analysis of mankind (according to the foreword which I found to be quite good background!). I appreciated that while Sade’s work is very sexual, it’s not very graphic. At least by today’s standards.
These stories all read as a lot of rambling and word vomit which isn’t my cup of tea. Almost every paragraph seemed endless and my eyes would just get so fatigued. I also think the arrangement of the stories could’ve been better (start with 2-3 shorter stories rather than with Eugénie de Franval, perhaps putting that one last because it seems to best demonstrate Sade’s writing prowess).
Overall
Although I struggled to the end, I’m glad I got to try something new despite Sade turning out to not be for me!
Thank you Pushkin Press Classics and NetGalley for the DRC! This title will be available September 3, 2024.
Prior to this, I had never read any of Sade’s work. I’m not sure I ever will again.
His writing interweaves sexuality and behavior/emotions as a sort of psychological analysis of mankind (according to the foreword which I found to be quite good background!). I appreciated that while Sade’s work is very sexual, it’s not very graphic. At least by today’s standards.
These stories all read as a lot of rambling and word vomit which isn’t my cup of tea. Almost every paragraph seemed endless and my eyes would just get so fatigued. I also think the arrangement of the stories could’ve been better (start with 2-3 shorter stories rather than with Eugénie de Franval, perhaps putting that one last because it seems to best demonstrate Sade’s writing prowess).
Overall
Although I struggled to the end, I’m glad I got to try something new despite Sade turning out to not be for me!
Thank you Pushkin Press Classics and NetGalley for the DRC! This title will be available September 3, 2024.
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