Victor Hugo
ogether, The History of a Crime (Part 2) and Napoleon the Little form Victor Hugo’s fierce literary resistance to the rise of authoritarianism under Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte. In The History of a Crime, Hugo recounts in harrowing detail the events surrounding the 1851 coup d’état, blending political testimony with personal outrage to expose the brutal dismantling of the French Republic. Napoleon the Little serves as an unrelenting satirical assault on Bonaparte’s regime, condemning its manipulation of democratic rhetoric and its betrayal of liberty. Written from exile, these companion works reveal Hugo’s unwavering moral vision and his belief in the power of the pen to combat tyranny.
