The Clemenceau Case

<p><I>The Clemenceau Case</I> (1866) is a novel by Alexandre Dumas <I>fils</I>. Partly inspired by his own life the novel takes the form of a letter written from prison to a powerful judge. Looking back on his experiences as an illegitimate child Pierre Clemenceau provides a scathing critique of French society for its treatment of women and children. Born out of wedlock Pierre Clemenceau is raised by a mother who tells him he has no father. Clemenceau is educated at a local school until the age of ten at which point he is sent to a prominent boarding school for boys. There he struggles to make friends and suffers bullying at the hands of a young American. Tortured day and night Pierre grows distrustful and violent and soon turns to a life of crime. As he relates the story of his life to a powerful judge he declares himself innocent due to the circumstance surrounding his birth and maintains the following: My true crime...for which earthly justice will not pursue me but for which I will never pardon myself nor those who impelled me to is that I have doubted and sometimes blushed for my mother. Filled with regret he looks for answers from the society that made him doubt his mother in the first place a society which allows men to escape the responsibilities of fatherhood with impunity. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript this edition of Alexandre Dumas <I>fils'</I> <I>The Clemenceau Case</I> is a classic of French literature reimagined for modern readers.</p>