A brilliant chronicle of the breaking of the Great French Revolution—and at the same time an exciting historical novel full of adventures and unexpected plot twists. Hugo’s last novel is built on contrasts: monarchy and republic; the Republic of Terror and the Republic of Mercy. In categories of good and evil, the beautiful and the ugly, it is not only people’s characters and actions that are judged, but also historical events and political institutions.
So, in Paris, the Directory holds sway. And on the remote coast of Northern France, a squadron of royalists is landed.