Victor Hugo was France's most famous writer by his thirties, with The Hunchback of NotreDame published in 1831. When Napoleon III seized power in 1851, Hugo spoke out and was forced into exile. He spent nearly 20 years away, most of them on Guernsey, where he finished Les Misérables in 1862, a huge novel about poverty, justice and mercy. He returned to France a national hero in 1870.
★ LEADER
COLLECTION C006 · NO. 040
★ COLLECTION LEADER
Victor Hugo
Les Misérables Author
EXTRA-ORDINARY TRAIT
PASSION
JFDI PILLAR
D — DRIVE
COUNTRY & REGION
France (Europe)
LIFESPAN
1802 – 1885
GENDER
Man
EDITION
No.040
✦ DEFINING MOMENT
Standing at his high writing desk in the glass lookout at Hauteville House, Guernsey, pen moving, sea behind him.
✦ ARCHIVAL DOSSIER
The Story
✦ DID YOU KNOW?
Around two million people turned out for his funeral in Paris in 1885.
✦ YOUR TURN
What would you keep saying even if it cost you your home?