Anonymous translation, 1901
This is Hugo’s last novel, which was first published in 1874, shortly after the bloody upheaval of the Paris Commune. The novel portrays the Revolt in the Vendée and Chouannerie, which were the counter-revolutionary revolts in 1793 during the French Revolution. Divided into three parts, though not in chronological order, the novel’s three different stories mainly take place in France, as well as the Channel Islands, where Hugo lived in later years.
Ninety-Three begins in the year 1793. During the Royalist insurrection of the Chouannerie, a troop of French Republic soldiers in Brittany encounter Michelle Fléchard, a peasant woman, and her three young children, who are fleeing from the conflict. When she explains that her husband and parents have been killed, the troop’s commander, Sergeant Radoub, convinces his men to look after the family.
Throughout the novel’s many historical events, Hugo clearly supports the revolutionaries and yet he ensures the Royalist counter-revolutionaries are in no way villainous, giving his portrayal a somewhat realistic approach, despite his overall intentions.