Anonymous translation, 1852
This is an influential political pamphlet, which was written by Hugo to condemn the reign of Napoleon III, Emperor of France. Hugo lived in exile in Guernsey during most of Napoleon III’s reign and his criticism of the monarch was significant as he was one of the most prominent French writers of the time. This non-fiction work is famous for the satirical concept of two and two make five, as a denial of truth by authority, an idea used later by George Orwell in Nineteen Eighty-Four.