Napoleon le Petit was an influential political pamphlet by Victor Hugo which condemned the reign of Napoleon III, Emperor of the French. Hugo lived in exile in Jersey for most of Napoleon III's reign, and his criticism of the monarch was significant as he was one of the most prominent Frenchmen of the time, and was revered by many. Volumes were smuggled into France (eg. in bales of hay, and between metal sheets as a tin of sardines), read at secret meetings, and hand-copied.