Sadism: How the Marquis de Sade Declared War on the World

His name became a word for cruelty. His life was a testament to defiance.

Before "sadism" was a term for a dark human impulse, it was the name of a man: Donatien Alphonse François, the Marquis de Sade. Born into the highest echelons of French royalty and destined for a life of privilege, he chose instead to wage a lifelong war against every form of authority-the Crown, the Church, and the suffocating conventions of his time.

This is not just the story of a monster. This is the immersive, fact...