Books with title Ninety-Three, Vol. 1

Ninety-Three (Quatrevingt-treize) is the last novel by the French writer Victor Hugo. Published in 1874, shortly after the bloody upheaval of the Paris Commune, the novel concerns the Revolt in the Vendée and Chouannerie – the counter-revolutionary revolts in 1793 during the French Revolution. It is divided into three parts, but not chronologically; each part tells a different story, offering a different view of historical general events. The action mainly takes place in Brittany and in Paris. Ayn Rand greatly praised this book (and Hugo's writing in general), acknowledged it as a source of inspiration, and even wrote an introduction to one of its English-language editions.

The year is 1793. The French Revolution is at its bloodiest, under attack from within by Royalists and from without by foreign armies. If England successfully lands its army in France, the Republic is likely doomed. Ninety-Three is the story of the Marquis de Lantenac, an exiled French nobleman snuck back into France to raise a Royalist army which will make the English invasion possible, Gauvain, Lantenac's great-nephew leading the Republican army to thwart him, and Cimourdain, a former priest and Gauvain's teacher and mentor, tasked to keep Gauvain on the right path. And in the end, who will face the guillotine?

The Revolution at its apogee, the fatal term of the contest waged by new ideas against the old social order, by liberty against despotism, by law against tyranny; and from this conflict, from this atmosphere of blood, progress and humanity triumphantly disengaging themselves; —such is the essence of the book. The drama, intermingled with graceful episodes and charming situations, is acted upon that ancient Vendéan soil, whose wild, picturesque landscapes are reproduced by the master's pen. This romance obtained a success equal to that of Les Misérables.

Ninety-Three (Quatrevingt-treize) is the last novel by the French writer Victor Hugo. Published in 1874, shortly after the bloody upheaval of the Paris Commune, the novel concerns the Revolt in the Vendée and Chouannerie – the counter-revolutionary revolts in 1793 during the French Revolution. It is divided into three parts, but not chronologically; each part tells a different story, offering a different view of historical general events. The action mainly takes place in Brittany and in Paris.