The History of a Crime

by Victor Hugo, Mint Editions (Contribution by)

Overview

The History of a Crime (1877) is a book-length essay by Victor Hugo. While Hugo is famous today for his status as a leading French poet and novelist of the nineteenth century, he was also a gifted historian and memoirist who served on the National Assembly of the Second Republic. Following the coup d’état of Napoleon III in 1851, Hugo was among the insurrectionists who revolted against military forces on the streets of Paris. Despite their efforts, the coup was successful, leading to Hugo’s exile until 1870. “To outrage Right, to suppress the Assembly, to abolish the Constitution, to strangle the Republic, to overthrow the Nation, to sully the Flag, to dishonor the Army, to suborn the Clergy and the Magistracy, to succeed, to triumph, to govern, to administer, to exile, to banish, to transport, to ruin, to assassinate, to reign, with such complicities that the law at last resembles a foul bed of corruption. What! All these enormities were to be committed! And by whom?” The French Second Republic was already in danger when Napoleon III was elected President of France in 1848. A populist, he was in constant conflict with the National Assembly and, nearing the end of his term, sought to seek reelection through constitutional change. When this avenue was denied, he began preparations for Operation Rubicon, a secret plan to conduct a coup d’état with the help of the Army and other high-ranking officials. On December 2nd, 1851, the anniversary of his uncle Napoleon Bonaparte’s coronation and victory at Austerlitz, the coup took place. Hugo, a National Assembly member, took to the streets of Paris with thousands of his fellow insurrectionaries, many of whom were beaten, arrested, and murdered for their actions. Despite their efforts, the coup was successful, leading to the reestablishment of the French Empire in 1852. Hugo’s essay—part history, part memoir—is a brilliant retelling of one of democracy’s darkest moments.

Since our inception in 2020, Mint Editions has kept sustainability and innovation at the forefront of our mission. Each and every Mint Edition title gets a fresh, professionally typeset manuscript and a dazzling new cover, all while maintaining the integrity of the original book.

With thousands of titles in our collection, we aim to spotlight diverse public domain works to help them find modern audiences. Mint Editions celebrates a breadth of literary works, curated from both canonical and overlooked classics from writers around the globe.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781513211947
Publisher:	Mint Editions
Publication date:	01/11/2022
Series:	Mint Editions (Nonfiction Narratives: Essays, Speeches and Full-Length Work)
Pages:	436
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.97(d)

About the Author

Victor Hugo (1802-1885) was a French poet and novelist. Born in Besançon, Hugo was the son of a general who served in the Napoleonic army. Raised on the move, Hugo was taken with his family from one outpost to the next, eventually setting with his mother in Paris in 1803. In 1823, he published his first novel, launching a career that would earn him a reputation as a leading figure of French Romanticism. His Gothic novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (1831) was a bestseller throughout Europe, inspiring the French government to restore the legendary cathedral to its former glory. During the reign of King Louis-Philippe, Hugo was elected to the National Assembly of the French Second Republic, where he spoke out against the death penalty and poverty while calling for public education and universal suffrage. Exiled during the rise of Napoleon III, Hugo lived in Guernsey from 1855 to 1870. During this time, he published his literary masterpiece Les Misérables (1862), a historical novel which has been adapted countless times for theater, film, and television. Towards the end of his life, he advocated for republicanism around Europe and across the globe, cementing his reputation as a defender of the people and earning a place at Paris’ Panthéon, where his remains were interred following his death from pneumonia. His final words, written on a note only days before his death, capture the depth of his belief in humanity: “To love is to act.”

Date of Birth:

February 26, 1802

Date of Death:

May 22, 1885

Place of Birth:

Besançon, France

Place of Death:

Paris, France

Education:

Pension Cordier, Paris, 1815-18

Table of Contents

	The First Day--The Ambush
I.	"Security"	9
II.	Paris sleeps--the Bell rings	13
III.	What had happened during the Night	15
IV.	Other Doings of the Night	31
V.	The Darkness of the Crime	33
VI.	"Placards"	35
VII.	No. 70, Rue Blanche	39
VIII.	"Violation of the Chamber"	46
IX.	An End worse than Death	56
X.	The Black Door	53
XI.	The High Court of Justice	60
II.	The Mairie of the Tenth Arrondissement	72
XIII.	Louis Bonaparte's Side-face	93
XIV.	The D'Orsay Barracks	95
XV.	Mazas	105
XVI.	The Episode of the Boulevard St. Martin	110
XVII.	The Rebound of the 24th June, 1848, on the 2d December 1851	120
XVIII.	The Representatives hunted down	126
XIX.	One Foot in the Tomb	134
XX.	The Burial of a Great Anniversary	143
	The Second Day--The Struggle
I.	They come to Arrest me	145
II.	From the Bastille to the Rue de Cotte	152
III.	The St. Antoine Barricade	156
IV.	The Workmen's Societies ask us for the Order to fight	171
V.	Baudin's Corpse	176
VI.	The Decrees of the Representatives who remained Free	181
VII.	The Archbishop	197
VIII.	Mount Valerien	203
IX.	The Lightning begins to flash among the People	207
X.	What Fleury went to do at Mazas	213
XI.	The End of the Second Day	219
	The Third Day--The Massacre
I.	Those who sleep and He who does not sleep	223
II.	The Proceedings of the Committee	225
III.	Inside the Elysee	233
IV.	Bonaparte's Familiar Spirits	237
V.	A Wavering Ally	242
VI.	Denis Dussoubs	244
VII.	Items and Interviews	245
VIII.	The Situation	250
IX.	The Porte Saint Martin	256
X.	My Visit to the Barricades	258
XI.	The Barricade of the Rue Meslay	262
XII.	The Barricade of the Mairie of the Fifth Arrondissement	266
XIII.	The Barricade of the Rue Thevenot	268
XIV.	Ossian and Scipio	272
XV.	The Question presents itself	279
XVI.	The Massacre	284
XVII.	The Appointment made with the Workmen's Societies	292
XVIII.	The Verification of Moral Laws	297
	The Fourth Day--The Victory
I.	What happened during the Night--the Rue Tiquetonne	301
II.	What happened during the Night--the Market Quarter	304
III.	What happened during the Night--the Petit Carreau	317
IV.	What was done during the Night--the Passage du Saumon	329
V.	Other Deeds of Darkness	336
VI.	The Consultative Committee	343
VII.	The Other List	349
VIII.	David d'Angers	352
IX.	Our Last Meeting	354
X.	Duty can have two Aspects	358
XI.	The Combat finished, the Ordeal begins	366
XII.	The Exiled	368
XIII.	The Military Commissions and the mixed Commissions	382
XIV.	A Religious Incident	386
XV.	How they came out of Ham	386
XVI.	A Retrospect	396
XVII.	Conduct of the Left	397
XVIII.	A Page written at Brussels	406
XIX.	The Infallible Benediction	410
	Conclusion--The Fall
Chap. I.411
Chap. II.413
Chap. III.415
Chap. IV.417
Chap. V.418
Chap. VI.420
Chap. VII.422
Chap. VIII.425
Chap. IX.427
Chap. X.428