Translated by Eugenia De B.
Published in 1829 by editor Charles Gosselin, this novel is a political indictment for the abolition of the death penalty. Hugo met several times with the spectacle of the guillotine and he strove to portray its cold-blooded evil in this short work of fiction. The novel recounts the thoughts of a man condemned to die, who writes down his thoughts and fears while waiting for execution. He does not betray his name to the reader or what he has done, though he vaguely hints that he has killed someone.