Reading session: Hugo's The Last Day of a Condemned Man

Written as a fictional diary, this novel describes the last hours of an unnamed prisoner awaiting his execution by the guillotine in 19th-century France. The book will be fully discussed in two sessions of two hours each. The sessions are organised and supervised by Eline Couperus and Arthur Willemse of Universiteit Maastricht.

Discussions will focus on themes such as justice, history, Europe, faith and existentialism. In the first meeting, you will focus on the first half of the book.

Registration is required.

Hugo and the Law exhibition
This reading session has been organised in conjunction with the Hugo and the Law exhibition at Maastricht University Library. The exhibition highlights Victor Hugo's commitment to law, justice and human dignity and provides historical and philosophical context to the novel's themes.

Together, the reading sessions and the exhibition invite you to reflect on punishment, responsibility and compassion-questions that are still very relevant today, in Europe and beyond.