Hugo was born in Besançon as the son of a Napoleonic general. After the separation of his parents he lived with his mother. From 1815 to 1818 he attended the lycée Louis-le Grand in Paris, reading videly and writing poetry, including verse translations of Virgil. In 1819 he founded with his brothers a review, the Conservateur Littéraire and published his first collection of poems, ODES ET POÉSIES DIVERSES, which gained him a pension from Louis XVIII. As a novelist Hugo made his debut with HAN D'ISLANDE, which was published in 1823.

In 182 Hugo married Adèle Foucher, who was the daughter of an officer in ministry of war. His brother went insane on his wedding day and spent the rest of his life in an institution.

In the 1820s Hugo come in touch with liberal writers.The romantic style of Sir Walter Scott labelled several of his works, among them BUG-JARGAL (1826). His foreworf for his play CROMWELL (1827) started debate between French Classicism and Romanticism - and in this literary battle Hugo's home became the center of Romantic writers.

Wider fame Hugo gained with his play HERNANI (1830) and with his famous historical work NOTRE-DAME DE PARIS which became an instant success. Since its appearance in 1831 the story has became part of the popular culture. The novel, set in 15th century Paris, tells a moving story of a gipsy girl Esmeralda and the deformed bell ringer, Quasimodo, who loves her. Esmeralda arouses passion in Claude Frollo, an evil priest, who discovers that she favors Captain Phoebus. Frollo kills the captain and Esmeralda is accused of the crime. Quasimodo attempts to shelter Esmeralda in the cathedral. Frollo finds her and when Frollo is rejected by Esmeralda, he leaves her to the executioners. In his despair Quasimodo catches the priest, throws him from the cathedral tower, and disappears. Later two skeletons are found in Esmeralda's tomb - that of a hunchback embracing that of a woman.

In the 1830s Hugo published several volumes of lyric poetry, which were inspired by Juliette Drouet, an actress with whom Hugo had a liaison until her death in 1883.

After three unsuccessfull attempts Hugo was elected in 1841 to the Académie Francaise. This triump was shadowed by the death of Hugo's daughter Léopoldine in 1843 and it took a decade before Hugo published again books. He devoted himself to politics, advocating social justice.

In 1848, with the formation of the Second Republic, Hugo was elected to the Constitutent Assembly and to the Legislative Assembly.

When the coup d'état took place in 1851 Hugo fled to Brussels and then to Jersey and Guernsey. This partly voluntary exile lasted 20 years in which time Hugo wrote at Hauteville House some his best works, including LES CHÂTIMENTS (1853) and LES MISÉRABLES (1862), which is among Hugo's most popular works.

The story is set in the Parisian underworld. Its central character, Jean Valjean, is sentenced to prison for 19 years for stealing a loaf of bread. After his release Valjean plans to rob monseigneur Myriel, a saintlike bishop, but cancels his plan. However, he forfeits his parole by committing a minor crime, and for this crime Valjean is haunted by the police inspector Javert. Valjean eventually reforms and becomes under the name of M. Madeleine a succesful businessman, benefactor and mayor of a northern town. To save an innocent man Valjean gives himself up and is imprisoned in Toulon. He escapes and adopts Cosette, an illegitimite child of a poor woman, Fantine. Cosette grows up and falls in love with Marius, who is wounded during a revolutionary fight. Valjean rescues Marius by means of a flight through the sewers of Paris. Cosette and Marius marries and Valjean reveals his past. - The story has been filmed several times - last adaptation is from 1998.

The political upheaval in France and the proclamation of the Third Republic made Hugo return to France. In 1870 he witnessed the siege of Paris. During the period of the Paris Commune Hugo lived in Brussels, from where he was expelled for sheltering defeated revolutionaries. After short time refuge in Luxemburg Hugo returned to Paris and was elected senator.

Hugo died in Paris on May 22, 1885. He was given at his death a national funeral. It was attended by two million people. Victor Hugo is buried in the Panthéon.

Museum: Maison de Victor Hugo, 6 Place des Vosges, the Marais, 75004 - Hugo's house in Paris for 17 years, restored to its original character.

For further reading: Olympio: Life of Victor Hugo by André Maurois (1954 ); Extraordinary House of Victor Hugo in Guernsey by A.D. Chauvel and M. Forestier (1975); Victor Hugo, ed. by Harold Bloom (1991): Victor Hugo: A Biography by Graham Robb (1998); Victor Hugo Encyclopedia by John A. Frey (1998); Victor Hugo and the Romantic Drama by Albert W. Halsall (1998)

Selected works:

• ODES, 1822
• HAN D'ISLANDE, 1823
• NOUVELLES ODES, 1824
• ODES ET BALLADES, 1826
• BUG-JARGAL, 1826
• CROMWELL, 1827
• LES ORIENTALES, 1829
• MARION DE LORME, 1829
• LE DERNIER JOUR D'UN CONDAMNÉ, 1829 - LAST DAY OF CONDEMNED MAN
• HERNANI, 1830
• LES FEUILLES D'AUTOMME, 1831 - AUTUMS LEAVES
• NOTRE-DAME DE PARIS, 1831 - THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME - film 1923, dir. by Wallace Worsley, starring Lon Chaney; film 1939, dir. by William Dieterle, starring Charles Lauaghton and Maureen O'Hara; film 1956, dir. by Jean Delannoy, starring Gina Lollobrigida and Anthony Quinn; television film 1982, dir. by Michael Tuchner, starring Anthony Hopkins; animation film (Disney Production); 1996, dir. by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, voices of Tom Hulce, Demo Moore, Kevin Kline
• LE ROI S'AMUSE, 1832 (NOTE: Verdi's opera Rigoletto is based on this verse drama)
• LERCRÉCE BORGIA, 1833
• CLAUDEGUEUX,1834
• LES CHATS DU CRÉPUSCULE, 1835 - TWILIGHT SONGS
• LES VOIX INTÉRIEURES, 1837 - INNER VOICES
• LES CHÂTIMENTS, 1853
• LES CHÂTIMENTS, 1853 - THE PUNISHMENTS
• LES CONTEMPLATIONS, 1856
• LA LÉGENDE DES SIÉCLES I-II, 1859, 1877 - THE LEGEND OF CENTURIES
• LES MISÉRABLES, 1862 - film 1935, dir. by Richard Boleslawski, starring Fredric March and Charles Laughton; film 1952, dir. by Lewis Milestone, starring Michael Rennie and Debra Paget; film 1952, dir. by Riccardo Freda, starring Gino Cervi and Valentina Cortesa; film 1957, dir. by Jean-Paul Le Chanois, starring Jean Gabin and Daniele Delorme, television film 1978, dir. by Glenn Jordan, starring Richard Jordan, Anthony Perkins, Claude Dauphin; film 1995, dir. by Claude Lelouch, starring Jean-Paul Belmondo and Michael Boujenah; film 1998, dir. by Billie August, starring Liam Neeson, Geoffrey Rush, Uma Thurman
• WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, 1864
• LES TRAVAILLEURS DE LA MER, 1866
• L'HOMME QUI RIT, 1869 - film 1927, dir. by Paul Leni
• L'ANNÉE TERRIBLE, 1872
• QUATRE-VINGTTREIZE, 1874 - NINETY-THREE
• L'ART D'ÊTRE GRANDPÉRE, 1877
• LE PAPE, 1878
• LA PITIÉ SUPRÊME, 1879
• RELIGIONS ET RELIGION, 1880
• LES QUATRE VENTS DE L'ESPIRIT, 1881
• TORQUEMADA, 1882
• LE THÉÂTRE EN LIBERTÉ, 1886
• LA FIN DE SATAN, 1886
• DIEU, 1891