Victor Hugo is a celebrated French Romantic author best known for his poetry and his novels, including 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame' and 'Les Misérables.' Victor-Marie Hugo was born in Besançon, France, on February 26, 1802,
He became one of the most important French Romantic poets, novelists and dramatists of his time, having assembled a massive body of work while living in Paris, Brussels and the Channel Islands. Hugo died on May 22, 1885, in Paris.
Victor Hugo had many talents, but he was first and foremost a successful novelist, poet and playwright.
Notre-Dame de Paris (The Hunchback of Notre-Dame in English) was published in 1830, and was swiftly translated into many other languages. The story is set in 15th century Paris, and tells the tale of Quasimodo and Esmeralda.
At the time of writing, the Notre-Dame Cathedral had fallen into disrepair. The beautiful stained glass windows that we can see today were taken out and replaced by white glass in order to bring more light into the cathedral, and the rest of the cathedral was in desperate need of some TLC.
Les Misérables tells the story of many different characters, notably the protagonist Jean Valjean. The story spans over 17 years, beginning in 1815, and ending in 1832. Hugo spent over 15 years writing Les Misérables.
In addition to writing plays and novels, Hugo was also a poet. After he published his first 2 novels, he began to dedicate himself to poems. Between 1829 and 1840, he released 5 volumes of poetry.
Just when you thought that Hugo couldn’t get any more talented. He was also an illustrator! Over the course of his lifetime, he produced more than 4,000 drawings. Hugo kept these drawings to himself, as he didn’t want them to take his writing out of the spotlight.
In 1841, Hugo was elected to the Académie Française, a French council that holds authority over the French language and all matters concerning it. Hugo had been trying to be elected for years, but other members tried to keep him out as they were against the Romantic movement that Hugo was a part of.
I’ve already briefly mentioned that Hugo became involved in politics in the mid-19th century. He was really passionate about improving conditions for the poor, and eradicating the death penalty. He believed that no matter the situation, it was cruel and barbaric.
Hugo was married to a woman named Adèle Foucher in 1822. Foucher was Hugo’s childhood friend, and they were engaged in secret because Hugo’s mother didn’t like her. Foucher and Hugo didn’t officially marry until after the death of Hugo’s mother.
Although Hugo was married with children, he had many mistresses throughout his life. In addition, his wife also carried out extramarital affairs. Despite this, the pair lived together for almost 50 years before Foucher’s death in 1868.
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