History of a Crime (The Testimony of an Eye-Witness) [Paperback]

Victor Hugo (Author), T. H. Joyce (Translator), Arthur Locker (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 25, 2005

Victor Hugo's documentary historical novel History of a Crime is an impassioned recording of the December 1852 coup d'état that brought the usurper he called "Napoléon le petit" to power, and sent Hugo into an eighteen year exile. The work was written in the few months following Hugo's flight, but only published in 1877, when Hugo feared a similar takeover by Maréchal Mac-Mahon, who had threatened the dissolution of the republican-dominated Chambre des députés. Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte (1808-1873) was elected President (December 20, 1848- December 2, 1852) of the Second Republic of France and subsequently accepted the title of the Emperor (December 2, 1852- September 4, 1870), reigning as Napoléon III.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Victor-Marie Hugo is known abroad for his novels, especially Les Mis_rables and Notre-Dame de Paris, but in France for his poetry and plays. More a leftist with each passing year, he was forced into exile during the reign of Napoleon III and lived briefly in Belgium. Hugo was a political man, speaking out against the death penalty and in favor of pacifism and freedom of the press. In his youth, he was a Catholic but later was a Spiritualist and a Deist. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Mondial (March 25, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1595690204
• ISBN-13: 978-1595690203
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,573,157 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating document and captivating documentary novel, May 18, 2005

By 

Peter Dale (New York, NY, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: History of a Crime (The Testimony of an Eye-Witness) (Paperback)

Victor Hugo's long and chequered life was filled with experiences of the most diverse character - literature and politics, the court and the street, parliament and the theatre, labour, struggles, disappointments, exile and triumphs.

Victor Hugo's HISTOIRE D'UN CRIME (History of a Crime - The Testimony of an Eye-Witness) is an impassioned recording of the December 1852 coup d'etat that brought the usurper he called "Napoleon le petit" to power, and sent Hugo into an eighteen year exile. The work was written in the few months following Hugo's flight, but only published in 1877, when Hugo feared a similar takeover by Marechal Mac-Mahon, who had threatened the dissolution of the republican-dominated Chambre des deputes (parliament).

During his exile on the island of Guernsey, he completed, among others, his longest and most famous work, Les Misérables (1862), and also The Man Who Laughs (L'Homme qui rit; 1869), also known as "By Order of the King", a historic novel with fictional characters, set in England 1688-1705.

Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte (1808-1873), the main character of "History of a Crime", was elected President (1848 - 1852) of the Second Republic of France, and subsequently accepted the title of the Emperor (1852 - 1870), reigning as Napoléon III.