The book ‘Imirce’ was banned and confiscated in France for its irreligious and pornographic content. Although Henri Joseph Du Laurens has largely disappeared from literary history, his work was widely read in the 18th century. Between 1765 and 1782 ‘Imirce’ caused more than a stir. The author, a priest, was arrested in 1767 and condemned to prison in perpetuity; he spent the last 27 years of his life descending into madness in the convent prison at Mariembourg in the French First Republic, now in Belgium.