The action mainly takes place in Paris and in the Vendée region of western France, and to a lesser extent at sea off the Channel Islands, where Hugo latterly lived.
The commander of the
Republican forces is a young nobleman, himself originating from the region, who had completely gone over to the Revolution during his studies in Paris. The leader of the
Royalist rebels is his uncle, who came back secretly from exile in England. The
nephew places a price on his uncle''s head and imposes a death punishment on anybody who would give him aid and comfort.
The book concludes with a whole string of noble self-sacrifices and acts of idealistic self-negation. The royalist forces are forced to withdraw from a castle and set it on fire, leaving a Republican-sympathising peasant woman and her children to burn to death. The republicans cannot break down the
gate in time to save them, but the Royalist leader -who could have escaped safely via a secret passage- comes out and opens the gate. The uncle is
placed in prison and is to be
executed, but his Republican nephew feels that it would be unjust – and helps him escape, whereupon the nephew is court-martialled under his own decree.
The court is divided, one judge imposing a death punishment and the other supporting acquittal because of the circumstances. The casting vote is up to the President of the Court – an ex-priest who is the accused''s beloved and loving tutor who introduced him to revolutionary principles and who is in essence his adoptive father. Precisely because of this he decides for the death penalty, since revolutionary principles must be placed before personal feelings.The condemned young man fully accepts the justice of the
verdict, marches proudly to the guillotine and cries out "Long Live the Republic!" before placing his head on the bloc. At the moment when the verdict is executed, the tutor/judge pulls out his pistol and shoots himself, and – as Hugo puts it – "The two souls go to Heaven locked in embrace
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