Victor Hugo

Victor Hugo was a renowned poet, novelist and playwright of the Romantic Movement in 19th century France. He is considered by many as one of the greatest and best-known French authors of all times. He was also a political statesman and human rights activist, although he is primarily remembered for his literary creations like poetry and novels. Hugo was born on 26 February 1802 in Besançon in Eastern France. His father was a general in Napoléon’s army, and much of his childhood was therefore spent amid the backdrop of Napoléon’s campaigns in Spain and in Italy. At the age of eleven, Hugo returned to live with his mother in Paris, where he became infatuated with books and literature. Hugo began his literary career as a poet, publishing his first collection of poems, Odes et poésies diverses, in 1822. He soon became a leader of the Romantic movement with his play Cromwell (1827) and drama Hernani (1830), which challenged the classical rules of theatre. He also wrote several novels that explored social issues and human passions, such as Notre-Dame de Paris (1831), also known as The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, and Les Misérables (1862), which is considered one of the greatest novels of all time. Hugo was also involved in politics, serving as a deputy and a senator in the French parliament. He was a staunch supporter of republicanism and democracy, and opposed the monarchy and the dictatorship of Napoléon III. He was exiled from France from 1851 to 1870, living in Brussels, Jersey, and Guernsey. During his exile, he wrote some of his most famous works, such as Les Contemplations (1856), La Légende des siècles (1859), and Les Châtiments (1853), a collection of poems denouncing Napoléon III. Hugo returned to France in 1870 after the fall of the Second Empire. He continued to write and publish until his death on 22 May 1885. He was given a state funeral in the Panthéon of Paris, which was attended by over two million people. He is regarded as a national hero and a symbol of French culture.