''Histoire secrète d' Isabelle de Bavière, reine de France'',Or, to give its full title, ''Histoire secrète d'Isabelle de Bavière, reine de France, dans laquelle se trouvent des faits rares, inconnus ou restés dans l'oubli jusqu'à ce jour, et soigneusement étayés de manuscrits authentiques allemands, anglais et latins'' (''Secret history of

Isabelle of Bavaria Isabeau of Bavaria (or Isabelle; also Elisabeth of Bavaria-Ingolstadt; c. 1370 – September 1435) was Queen of France from 1385 to 1422. She was born into the House of Wittelsbach as the only daughter of Duke Stephen III of Bavaria-Ingol ...

, queen of France, in which are to be found rare deeds, unknown or having remained forgotten until today, and carefully supported by authentic German, English and Latin manuscripts'') a novel written in 1813 by the Marquis de Sade (d. 1814), was not published until 1953. Its inception is recounted in a note at the end of the manuscript. In July 1764 Sade set out from Paris for

Dijon Dijon (, , ) (dated) * it, Digione * la, Diviō or * lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920. The earlies ...

, to see documents from the time of

Charles VI of France Charles VI (3 December 136821 October 1422), nicknamed the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé) and later the Mad (french: le Fol or ''le Fou''), was King of France from 1380 until his death in 1422. He is known for his mental illness and psychotic ...

at the

Carthusian The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians ( la, Ordo Cartusiensis), are a Latin enclosed religious order of the Catholic Church. The order was founded by Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. The order has i ...

convent (including the

Duke of Burgundy Duke of Burgundy (french: duc de Bourgogne) was a title used by the rulers of the Duchy of Burgundy, from its establishment in 843 to its annexation by France in 1477, and later by Holy Roman Emperors and Kings of Spain from the House of Habsburg ...

's will and the confession of Boisbourdon, Isabelle's favourite), which he alleges were destroyed later at the time of the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

. Its central character is Isabelle herself (Isabeau of Bavaria, d. 1435), wife of Charles VI, used by Sade to create a woman who is beautiful, evil and cruel. She has similarities to Juliette and possibly acts as a prototype of Sade's later, most perverted characters.

Notes

Sources

Recent Developments in Research on the Marquis de Sade, by Hobart Ryland – ''The French Review'' 1951Novel Reader, Fiction Writer, by Georges May – ''Yale French Studies'' 1965
1813 French novels French erotic novels Novels set in the Middle Ages Novels by the Marquis de Sade Novels set in France Novels about royalty {{18thC-erotic-novel-stub