Victor Hugo: No to the Death Penalty

Ages 10 to 14, Grades 5 to 9

The first young adult book about the great writer and social justice activist plunges us into the heart of Victor Hugo's fierce fight against the death penalty.

A new addition to the "They Said No" series.

The guillotine. When Victor Hugo was a child in early 1800s France, it was common to walk down the street and see a petty thief or vagrant beheaded at the guillotine. It was a brutal punishment and also a public spectacle. Hugo was sickened and haunted by these public executions. For him, no man has the right or the power to end the life of another, whatever the crime committed.

Hugo was a poet and novelist, author of Les Miserables and The Hunchback of Notre Dame among many others. But equally important to him was his work that protected life, like his book The Last Day of a Condemned Man, which allowed readers to understand what it might feel like to contemplate one's impending death. He also led a fight to save an assassin named Tapner: he had "declared war on the guillotine."

Many activists have taken up the fight to end the death penalty. And much progress has been made around the world. Yet many countries--China, Iran, Egypt, the United States and many others--despite calls from those around the world who continue to say no, still allow the death penalty as a form of state-sanctioned punishment.

Series Overview: THEY SAID NO SERIES. There have always been people who said NO to what they considered unjust and unfair. "They Said No" is an historical fiction series for younger readers of protestors, activists, poets, revolutionaries and other brave changemakers from around the world that emphasizes the importance of standing up for what you know is right.

About the Author

Born in 1964 in Lyon, France, Murielle Szac is a journalist and writer. She has been a political journalist as well as the editor-in-chief of three magazines about early childhood. She has also been a television documentary director, and has published a dozen books, including Le feuilleton d'Hermès (Greek mythology in 100 episodes). She is currently an editor with the Bayard group. 

In 2008 Murielle created the They Said No ("Ceux qui ont dit non") series for Actes Sud Jeunesse, which she currently directs, as well as the collections "Poés' Idéal" in 2014 and "Sur le fil" in 2015 for Bruno Doucey editions.

Author Residence: Paris, France

Author Hometown: Lyon, France