L'otage: Drame en trois actes

by Paul Claudel

"L'otage: Drame en trois actes" by Paul Claudel is a three-act play published in 1911. Set during the final years of the French Empire from 1810 to 1814, it marks the first installment of Claudel's Trilogie des Coûfontaine. The play captures a turbulent moment in French history as Napoleon's empire crumbles. Staged repeatedly throughout the twentieth century, from London to Paris, this work has endured as a significant piece of French theatrical literature, later followed by two companion plays that complete the trilogy.