Juliette

Juliette is built as a string of sexual episodes, each one carrying the heroine into a new encounter and a new set of experiences. Between these scenes the narrative stops for long stretches of philosophical and theological argument, in which the characters attack religious belief and conventional morality and defend pleasure as a natural part of life.

The title character is the younger sister of Justine, and the book works as a companion to the earlier novel that follows Justine. Where Justine suffers for her virtue, Juliette prospers by embracing vice, and the novel follows how far she is willing to go. The original French title, Histoire de Juliette, ou Les Prospérités du vice, points to this contrast.

The author, the Marquis de Sade, was a French aristocrat and writer whose work was often suppressed, and he spent many years imprisoned, much of that time because of his writings and conduct. Juliette is one of his longest novels.