Justine

Set just before the French Revolution, the narrative follows a young woman named Therese as she recounts her misfortunes to Madame de Lorsagne while facing punishment and death. Written during the Marquis de Sade's imprisonment, this early work contains less obscenity than his later writings. It explores themes of virtue and vice, illustrating the struggles of its protagonist in a tumultuous society. Napoleon Bonaparte famously condemned it, leading to Sade's arrest, marking the book as a significant yet controversial piece of classic erotic fiction.