Victor Hugo

Who is Victor Hugo?

Victor Hugo was born in Besançon and became the towering figure of French Romantic literature. He achieved early fame as a poet and dramatist, with his play 'Hernani' (1830) marking a decisive victory for Romanticism over classical theatre. He is best known worldwide for his novels 'Notre-Dame de Paris' (1831), which helped inspire the restoration of the cathedral, and 'Les Misérables' (1862), a sweeping story of justice, poverty and redemption in nineteenth-century France. A committed republican and social reformer, Hugo championed the abolition of the death penalty and universal suffrage. His political opposition to Napoleon III forced him into nearly two decades of exile on the Channel Islands of Jersey and Guernsey, where he produced some of his greatest work. On his death in 1885 he was honoured with a state funeral and interred in the Panthéon in Paris.

Sources: Graham Robb, 'Victor Hugo: A Biography' (1997) · Victor Hugo, 'Les Misérables' (1862)