Will McMorran's excellent Introduction dramatically retells the story of the notorious true crime in which a Provençal noblewoman was murdered by her husband's brothers in 1667, showing where Sade's tale fits within the many accounts of her death. He also provides a very helpful selected bibliography of the retellings of the story.
Dr. Will McMorran is a Reader in French & Comparative Literature at Queen Mary University of London. His translation of Sade's The 120 Days of Sodom with Thomas Wynn was awarded the Scott Moncrieff Prize in 2017.