The Elegant Criminal
On January 9, 1836, murderer and thief Pierre Lacenaire is put to death by guillotine. He tells Allard, a police inspector, the story of his life, which he wrote while he was waiting to be killed. He also asks Allard to take care of Hermine, a girl whose guardian he has been for more than a decade. In flashbacks, we see Lacenaire's childhood as he stands up to bullies, including priests, his youth as a thief, his first murder, his short time in the army, his seduction of a princess, and his affair with Avril, a young man who dies next to him. These scenes take place in the prison where Lacenaire is writing, in Allard's study as he and Hermine read, and in the memories of other readers after the book