Ninety-Three (1874) is the final novel of Victor Hugo. As a work of
historical fiction, the story is set during the period of conflict
between the newly formed French Republic and the Royalists who sought to
reverse the gains of the revolution. Praised for its morality and honest
depiction of the horrors of war, Ninety-Three influenced such
wide-ranging political thinkers as Joseph Stalin and Ayn Rand. "The
soldiers forced cautiously. Everything was in full bloom; they were
surrounded by a quivering wall of branches, whose leaves diffused a
delicious freshness. Here and there sunbeams pierced these green
shades." Advancing through the countryside, a band of Republican
soldiers discovers a family of refugees, a mother and two children who
fled for their lives during the insurrection of Royalists in Brittany.
Taken in, they are swept up in an attack by the merciless Marquis de
Lantenac, a counterrevolutionary leader who has just landed with a unit
of Royalist troops. Separated from her children, Michelle is protected
by a local beggar who hides her from Lantenac and his men. Meanwhile,
Robespierre, Marat, and Danton have sent Commander Gauvain from Paris to
stamp out the Royalist threat in Brittany, knowing all too well that
Lantenac is his distant relative. As families are torn apart in the name
of political struggle, as mercy gives way to death and betrayal, Hugo
examines the human cost of war without losing sight of the gravity of
the historical moment. With a beautifully designed cover and
professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Victor Hugo's
Ninety-Three is a classic work of French literature reimagined for
modern readers.
