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Blanche Monnier (French pronunciation: ; 1 March 1849 – 13 October 1913), often known in France as la Séquestrée de Poitiers (roughly, "The Confined Woman of Poitiers"), was a woman from Poitiers, France, who was secretly kept locked in a small room by her aristocratic mother and brother for 25 years.

She was eventually found by police, then middle-aged and in emaciated and filthy condition; according to officials, Monnier had not seen any sunlight for her entire captivity.

Monnier was a French socialite born on 1 March 1849, from a well-respected, conservative bourgeoisie family of Charles and Louise Monnier, in Poitiers of old noble origins. In 1876, at the age of 27, she desired to marry Victor Calmeil, an older lawyer who was not to her mother's liking; Louise argued that her daughter could not marry a "penniless lawyer". Her disapproving mother, angered by her daughter's defiance, locked her in a tiny, dark room in the attic of their home, where she kept her secluded for 25 years.

I speak of a spinster who is locked up in Madame Monnier's house, half-starved and living on a putrid litter for the past twenty-five years – in a word, in her own filth. On the afternoon of Thursday, May 23, 1901, at around five o’clock, Commissioner Bucheton of the Poitiers police arrived at the Monnier family residence. Accompanied by officers and armed with an order from Paris prosecutor Monsieur Morellet, he requested entry to inspect the home. The Monnier family employee, unable to refuse, consulted with the owner, Madame Louise Monnier, who, at 75 years old, was reportedly in bed. The officers were directed to her son, Marcel Monnier, a 53-year-old doctor of law and former public servant, who lived in a neighboring property. Despite the butler's attempts to dissuade them, the police proceeded with their inquiry into an anonymous complaint alleging that an adult woman was being held captive in the Monnier household. Once inside, they searched each room on the ground floor, finding nothing unusual. They continued to the second floor, examining each space without any signs of concern—until they reached a locked attic door, secured with a thick chain and padlock. The space was in complete darkness, and at the far end of the attic, they saw what appeared to be a frail, emaciated figure lying on a deteriorated mattress. The room was in severe disrepair, littered with old food, insects, and waste. Marcel Monnier identified her as his sister, Blanche Monnier. Once a young and well-regarded member of society, Blanche was now 52 years old and had endured 25 years in captivity before finally being discovered. Monnier was rescued by police from appalling conditions, covered in old food and feces, with bugs all around the bed and floor, weighing barely 25 kilograms (55 lb). One policeman described the state of Monnier and her bed thus: The unfortunate woman was lying completely naked on a rotten straw mattress. We also saw oyster shells, and bugs running across Mademoiselle Monnier's bed.

Louise Monnier was arrested, became ill shortly afterwards and died 15 days later, after seeing an angry mob gather in front of her house. Marcel Monnier appeared in court and was initially convicted, but later was acquitted on appeal; he was deemed mentally incapacitated, and, although the judges criticised his choices, they found that a "duty to rescue" did not exist in the penal code at that time with sufficient rule to convict him. Marcel Monnier died in June 1913 at the age of 65 in Migné. After she was released from the room, Monnier continued to have mental health problems.

Catharina Ulrika Hjort af Ornäs, a Swedish noblewoman who was imprisoned by her husband in a room for 33 years, eventually dying of neglect and starvation Genie, a girl whose father kept her socially isolated until the age of 13 years and 7 months.

Quick Facts

• Marcel Monnier identified her as his sister, Blanche Monnier.
• Monnier was a French socialite born on 1 March 1849, from a well-respected, conservative bourgeoisie family of Charles and Louise Monnier, in Poitiers of old noble origins.
• She was eventually found by police, then middle-aged and in emaciated and filthy condition; according to officials, Monnier had not seen any sunlight for her entire captivity.
• The Monnier family employee, unable to refuse, consulted with the owner, Madame Louise Monnier, who, at 75 years old, was reportedly in bed.
• Monnier was rescued by police from appalling conditions, covered in old food and feces, with bugs all around the bed and floor, weighing barely 25 kilograms (55 lb).

Source material: Wikipedia - "Blanche Monnier". Adapted and summarized for DiscoverScroll. Original contributors are credited through the linked Wikipedia article. Read original on Wikipedia. CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes were made from the original.