Honoré de Balzac: El Verdugo.
Translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley

A short story of about 3,900 words, set in Spain during the last months of the Napoleonic wars. The French garrison in Menda are under pressure from both the English and from Spanish resistance against Napoleon’s occupation of their country.
After a successful attack by the Spanish resistance forces, the French plan a spectacular revenge against the local nobility. Can the (inappropriately-named) Victor rescue his beloved Clara from the scaffold?

You know, the very first time I saw Balzac's name, I read it as Balsac.