"Combining philosophical and literary methods, Allen reads Sade's pornographic works in historicist fashion, analysing them in tandem with materialist philosophy and sentimental fiction (notably with Denis Diderot) . Allen has written an important book. He demonstrates how Sade equated language and the body to advance his libertine philosophy and shows the subversive intersections between sentimentalism and materialism in eighteenth-century thought. Complex and sometimes dense, the analysis contributes substantially to how we understand the meaning and intentions behind Sade's language and approach." Sean M. Quinlan, French Studies "More than 200 years after their author's death, the outrageous fictional writings of the Marquis de Sade continue to repel and fascinate in equal measure. Numerous are the moderns, from Adorno to Bataille, Blanchot to Horkheimer, Klossowski to Lacan, Pasolini to P. Weiss and zizek, who have sought to take the measure of Sade's monstrous radicalism and account for the destructive negativity of his thinking.

In this impressively original and thought-provoking new study, William S. Allen explores in incisive and intriguing fashion the philosophical stakes of Sade's uncompromising materialism, and probes anew the lessons of Sade's intellectual legacy for the contemporary world." -- Leslie Hill, Emeritus Professor in French Studies, University of Warwick, UK "An enlightening study not just of Sade's materialism but also of its reception among French and German intellectuals in the 20th century. Allen offers rigorous and erudite readings of some of Sade's most thoughtful and thought-provoking readers, from Adorno to Blanchot, and from Weiss to Pasolini." -- Will McMorran, Reader in French & Comparative Literature, Queen Mary University of London, UK.