Victor Hugo

Victor Hugo was born in Franche-Comte, in France, in 1802. His parents, Léopold and Sophie, had differing political and religious views. Léopold had been a supporter of Napoleon and the people’s Republic during the French Revolution, which took place in 1789 and in which the French monarchy was deposed, while Sophie was a strict Catholic and Royalist. Léopold was an officer in the French army and Hugo and his family travelled throughout Italy and Spain while Hugo was a child. As a young man, Hugo took his mother’s side in politics and religion and wrote several pieces of work that showcased his loyalty to the monarchy and the Church. However, as he grew older, his views began to change and, by the end of his life, Hugo supported democracy and the idea of a people’s Republic to keep the monarchy in check. Hugo married his childhood friend Adèle Foucher in 1822 and the pair had five children, one of whom died in infancy. Hugo had several affairs throughout their marriage, and he traveled extensively with his long-time mistress, Juliette Drouet. He was devastated by the loss of his eldest daughter Léopoldine, who died in 1843. Hugo published his first novel in 1823 and, by the 1830s, Hugo was a well-respected poet, playwright, and prose writer. His novel The Hunchback of Notre Dame was published in 1831, and it was followed by Les Misérables in 1862. Hugo was an extremely famous public figure in France and a vocal advocate for many political causes. In 1855, when Napoleon III reinstated the monarchy in France, Hugo was exiled for his criticisms of Royalism and went to live on the island of Guernsey. He returned to Paris 1870 and died there in 1885. Over two million people attended his funeral.