author
Henri Masers de Latude
1725–1805
Best known for surviving decades of imprisonment and for daring escapes from the Bastille and Vincennes, this extraordinary eighteenth-century figure turned his ordeal into one of the era’s most memorable memoirs. His life sits at the crossroads of scandal, endurance, and the public imagination just before the French Revolution.
1 Audiobook
Mémoires authentiques de Latude, écrites par lui au donjon de Vincennes et à Charenton
by Henri Masers de Latude
About the author
Born in Montagnac, France, in 1725, Jean Henri Latude was often known as Danry or Masers de Latude. He first trained in the military and later went to Paris, where a reckless scheme involving Madame de Pompadour led to his arrest and long imprisonment.
Latude became famous for being held for many years in state prisons, especially the Bastille and Vincennes, and for repeatedly trying to escape. Those escapes, together with the story of his confinement, made him a well-known public figure and helped turn him into a symbol of arbitrary imprisonment in the years leading up to the French Revolution.
After his release, he published memoirs recounting his experiences. Readers embraced the drama of his story, even though later reference works note that his account included exaggerations and inaccuracies. He died in Paris in 1805, but his name remains closely tied to the legend of the Bastille and to the literature of imprisonment and survival.