The Last Day of a Condemned Man

A first-person
diary of a prisoner’s final day before being executed for an unspecified
crime, Victor Hugo’s poignant tale vividly conveys the mental anguish of a
man confronted with the intransigent mechanism of justice, as his mind seeks
refuge in recollections from his past and philosophical musings on his
inevitable fate.

As relevant today as when it was first published in 1829, The Last Day of a
Condemned Man is an eloquent plea for compassion and a masterpiece of realist
fiction. This edition includes Preface to the 1832 edition, a manifest of
Hugo’s personal opnions, A Comedy about a Tragedy and Claude Gueux, an early
example of true crime fiction.