The Gold Sickle; or, Hena the Virgin of the Isle of Sen. A Tale of Druid Gaul is the first part of Eugène Sue's series The Mysteries of the People; or, History of a Proletarian Family Across the Ages, in which he intended to produce a comprehensive "universal history", dating from the beginning of the present era down to his own days. Sue's socialist leanings made this history that of the struggles of the ruled with the ruling classes. In the first volume we meet the Gallic chief Joel, whose descendants will typify the oppressed throughout the suite of novels. Joel and his son invite a traveller to share their supper one evening, curious as they are to hear what stories he has to tell. When he refuses, they capture him; the stories they exchange revolve around moral and political values.
