Preview
  • Justine, or The Misfortunes of the Virtue

  • By: Marquis de Sade
  • Narrated by: Paul Spera
  • Length: 2 hrs and 10 mins
  • 2.5 out of 5 stars (4 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Justine, or The Misfortunes of the Virtue

By: Marquis de Sade
Narrated by: Paul Spera
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $8.72

Buy for $8.72

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

"Justine, or The Misfortunes of Virtue", is an early work by the Marquis de Sade. It is a novella, written in two weeks while he was imprisoned in the famous Bastille. Unlike some of his other works, it is not just a catalogue of sadism. It is meant to bring new life to an old genre, which had the reader accustomed to see virtue eventually triumph after trials only meant to bring out its value.

Sade would have none of that in Justine: in her quest for virtue, the main character keeps falling into terrible situations, which humiliate her and present her with sexual lessons hidden under the mask of virtue. She seeks refuge and confession in a monastery, only to discover the monks are perverts and to be forced to become their sex-slave; she tries to help a gentleman getting robbed in a field, but he eventually imprisons her in his dungeon, subjugating her to various sexual punishments...

All of this is narrated by Justine herself, on her way to the gallocks. Napoleon Bonaparte ordered the arrest of the anonymous author of Justine and Juliette, and as a result, Sade was incarcerated for the last 13 years of his life. The book's destruction was ordered by the french Cour Royale de Paris on May 19, 1815. It is now a brilliant classic example of erotic litterature.

Donatien-Alphonse-François, Marquis de Sade was a French aristocrat, revolutionary politician, philosopher, and writer, famous for his libertine sexuality. His works include novels, short stories, and plays. De Sade is best known for his erotic works, which combined philosophical discourse with pornography, depicting sexual fantasies. He was a proponent of extreme freedom, unrestrained by morality, religion, or law. The words sadism and sadist are derived from his name.

À réserver aux adultes.
©Compagnie du Savoir (P)2016 Compagnie du Savoir
  • Abridged Audiobook
  • Categories: Erotica
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about Justine, or The Misfortunes of the Virtue

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 2.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    0
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 2 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    0
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 2 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    0
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Performance, repeats several times 🤬

I’ll admit I ignored the book after awhile due to
The narrator repeating the same lines over again, I would not recommend this version

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Good Narration, Awful Editing

While the narration is good, the voice pleasing, and the pace relaxing, the editing is more than lacking. often lines are repeated. As I am not familiar with the Marquis de Sade's writings, I cannot testify as to the completeness of this particular recording. However, considering where the story stopped, I doubt very much this is the entire writing.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Not the whole book--not even an "abridged" version

What does Paul Spera bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

His voice and reading were nice, but there were several points at which he would reread a sentence, obviously with the intention of editing the reading later and deleting the sentences that he felt he had messed up on. The editing process was clearly not carried out or simply not thorough.

Any additional comments?

This reading only includes the first part of the book (I'd say less than half), and stops abruptly in the middle of an episode. There is no semblance of a conclusion, no attempt to pick and choose portions of the book to narrate so as to leave the whole storyline intact while effectively "abridging" the work. It is as if they ripped the book into three pieces and read the first one, concluding the reading practically mid-sentence.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

just why?????

why is audible selling books that aren't complete?? this version does not even finish reading the book! seriously do not waste your time or money on this unless you just want to hear part of the story and waste your credits. this is literally why I canceled audible because this is the 2nd time it has happened to me. you guys are a joke and I wish I could do more than just rate you poorly.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!