In his novel published in 1912, the French writer and Nobel laureate Anatole France paints a broad panorama of the French Revolution during the Jacobin Reign of Terror: the only moderately talented painter Évariste Gamelin is a loyal follower of Robespierre. As a ruthless judge who punishes even the slightest offenses without hesitation with the guillotine, he rises to the leadership ranks of the revolutionaries. However, with the fall of Robespierre, Gamelin's mindless loyalty as a vassal becomes his downfall.