Knowra Victor Hugo Victor Hugo Victor Hugo (1802–1885) was a French poet, novelist, and dramatist whose works include Les Misérables and The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. A leading figure of French Romanticism, he also campaigned against the death penalty and social injustice.
Les Misérables : Victor Hugo’s 1862 novel follows Jean Valjean and other characters amid poverty, law, and political upheaval in France. Its social panorama became Hugo’s most widely known novel.
French Romanticism : A nineteenth-century French movement that favored emotional intensity, historical imagination, and freedom from classical artistic rules. Hugo became one of its most prominent writers and public advocates.
Adèle Foucher : Victor Hugo’s wife, whom he married in 1822 and with whom he had five children. Their marriage and family life shaped Hugo’s private world.
Panthéon : A Paris monument that serves as a mausoleum for distinguished French citizens. Hugo’s 1885 funeral procession ended with his burial in the Panthéon.
The Hunchback of Notre-Dame : Victor Hugo’s 1831 novel centers on Quasimodo, Esmeralda, and Notre-Dame Cathedral in medieval Paris. Its success helped spur public interest in preserving historic architecture.
Besançon : A city in eastern France, where Victor Hugo was born in 1802. Hugo’s birthplace anchors his early life in provincial France.
Juliette Drouet : A French actress who became Victor Hugo’s companion and correspondent for decades. Her extensive correspondence documents a lasting personal bond with Hugo.
Death penalty : State execution of a person convicted of a crime. Hugo repeatedly condemned executions in speeches and literary works.
The Toilers of the Sea : Victor Hugo’s 1866 novel portrays a Guernsey fisherman’s struggle against the sea and a shipwrecked machine. Written during Hugo’s exile, it turns the Channel Islands into a dramatic setting.
Victor Hugo's exile : Victor Hugo’s nearly twenty-year exile from France, chiefly on Guernsey, after Napoleon III’s 1851 coup. Exile shaped his political writing and produced several major works.
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