Les Misérables

About the Author

Victor Marie Hugo

Victor Marie Hugo (1802-1885) was a towering figure in French literature and one of the most influential writers of the 19th century, whose work spanned multiple genres and shaped the Romantic movement in France. Born in Besançon to a high-ranking officer in Napoleon's army, Hugo's early life was marked by the political turbulence of post-revolutionary France. His literary career began precociously with his first collection of poems published when he was just twenty, but it was the publication of his historical novel 'Notre-Dame de Paris' ('The Hunchback of Notre-Dame') in 1831 that established him as a leading literary voice. Throughout his long career, Hugo produced an astonishing body of work including poetry, plays, novels, essays, and political writings, demonstrating versatility and range rarely matched in literary history. His personal life was equally dramatic, marked by passionate love affairs, the tragic death of his daughter Léopoldine in 1843, and his political activism, which led to his exile from France for nearly twenty years during the reign of Napoleon III. During this exile on the Channel Islands of Jersey and Guernsey, Hugo wrote some of his most significant works, including 'Les Misérables' (1862), a sweeping historical novel that cemented his international reputation and has remained his most beloved creation. Hugo was more than just a writer; he was a political and moral force who advocated tirelessly for social justice, universal suffrage, and the abolition of the death penalty. His political convictions evolved over his lifetime, moving from royalist sympathies in his youth to republican beliefs in his maturity, even serving briefly in the National Assembly after the Revolution of 1848. Following the fall of Napoleon III and his return to France in 1870, Hugo was celebrated as a national hero and symbol of republican values. When he died in 1885 at the age of 83, he was granted a state funeral attended by more than two million people—one of the largest public gatherings in Paris history—and was interred in the Panthéon alongside France's greatest citizens. Hugo's literary legacy extends far beyond France; his works have been translated into virtually every language, adapted countless times for stage and screen, and continue to resonate with readers worldwide through their emotional power, social consciousness, and universal themes. Beyond his literary achievements, Hugo was also an accomplished visual artist who produced over 4,000 drawings. His innovative techniques in both literature and art, his passion for political and social reform, and his moral vision of human dignity and compassion have ensured that his influence endures well into the 21st century.