A Philosopher Among Criminals: Grave and The Era of Propaganda by the Deed (1892–1894)

This chapter centres on the conspiratorial imagination and moral panic crystallised by anarchist networks in the early 1890s, in which Grave became entangled as he found himself at the centre of two high-profile trials. The successive campaigns defending Grave through his legal troubles highlight his cross-political and literary networks and their reputational benefits. The first court case, with the Societe des Gens de Lettres, focused on the illegal publication of printed material which had become a trademark of Grave’s editorial work, which foregrounded literary and theoretical contents relevant to anarchism. His indictment in the highly publicised, catch-all August 1894 Trial of the Thirty triggered a support campaign in his favour, which sealed his status as a well-respected anarchist intellectual.