Victor Hugo Popular Books

Victor Hugo Biography & Facts

Victor-Marie Hugo (French: [viktɔʁ maʁi yɡo] ; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885), sometimes nicknamed the Ocean Man, was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. His most famous works are the novels The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (1831) and Les Misérables (1862). In France, Hugo is renowned for his poetry collections, such as Les Contemplations (The Contemplations) and La Légende des siècles (The Legend of the Ages). Hugo was at the forefront of the Romantic literary movement with his play Cromwell and drama Hernani. Many of his works have inspired music, both during his lifetime and after his death, including the opera Rigoletto and the musicals Les Misérables and Notre-Dame de Paris. He produced more than 4,000 drawings in his lifetime, and campaigned for social causes such as the abolition of capital punishment and slavery. Although he was a committed royalist when young, Hugo's views changed as the decades passed, and he became a passionate supporter of republicanism, serving in politics as both deputy and senator. His work touched upon most of the political and social issues and the artistic trends of his time. His opposition to absolutism, and his literary stature, established him as a national hero. Hugo died on 22 May 1885, aged 83. He was given a state funeral in the Panthéon of Paris, which was attended by over 2 million people, the largest in French history. Early life Victor-Marie was born on 26 February 1802 in Besançon in Eastern France. He was the youngest son of Joseph Léopold Sigisbert Hugo (1774–1828), a general in the Napoleonic army, and Sophie Trébuchet (1772–1821). The couple had two other sons: Abel Joseph (1798–1855) and Eugène (1800–1837). The Hugo family came from Nancy in Lorraine, where Victor Hugo's grandfather was a wood merchant. Léopold enlisted in the army of Revolutionary France at fourteen. He was an atheist and an ardent supporter of the Republic. Victor's mother Sophie was loyal to the deposed dynasty but would declare her children to be Protestants. They met in Châteaubriant in 1796 and married the following year.Since Hugo's father was an officer in Napoleon's army, the family moved frequently from posting to posting. Léopold Hugo wrote to his son that he had been conceived on one of the highest peaks in the Vosges Mountains, on a journey from Lunéville to Besançon. "This elevated origin," he went on, "seems to have had effects on you so that your muse is now continually sublime." Hugo believed himself to have been conceived on 24 June 1801, which is the origin of Jean Valjean's prisoner number 24601.In 1810, Hugo's father was made Count Hugo de Cogolludo y Sigüenza by then King of Spain Joseph Bonaparte, though it seems that the Spanish title was not legally recognized in France. Hugo later titled himself as a viscount, and it was as "Vicomte Victor Hugo" that he was appointed a peer of France on 13 April 1845.Weary of the constant moving required by military life, Sophie separated temporarily from Léopold and settled in Paris in 1803 with her sons. There, she began seeing General Victor Fanneau de La Horie, Hugo's godfather, who had been a comrade of General Hugo's during the campaign in Vendee. In October 1807, the family rejoined Leopold, now Colonel Hugo, Governor of the province of Avellino. There, Victor was taught mathematics by Giuseppe de Samuele Cagnazzi, elder brother of Italian scientist Luca de Samuele Cagnazzi. Sophie found out that Leopold had been living in secret with an Englishwoman called Catherine Thomas. Soon Hugo's father was called to Spain to fight the Peninsular War. Madame Hugo and her children were sent back to Paris in 1808, where they moved to an old convent, 12 Impasse des Feuillantines, an isolated mansion in a deserted quarter of the left bank of the Seine. Hiding in a chapel at the back of the garden was de La Horie, who had conspired to restore the Bourbons and been condemned to death a few years earlier. He became a mentor to Victor and his brothers.In 1811 the family joined their father in Spain. Victor and his brothers were sent to school in Madrid at the Real Colegio de San Antonio de Abad while Sophie returned to Paris on her own, now officially separated from her husband. In 1812 de La Horie was arrested and executed. In February 1815 Victor and Eugene were taken away from their mother and placed by their father in the Pension Cordier, a private boarding school in Paris, where Victor and Eugène remained for three years while also attending lectures at Lycée Louis le Grand. On 10 July 1816, Hugo wrote in his diary: "I shall be Chateaubriand or nothing." In 1817 he wrote a poem for a competition organised by the Academie Française, for which he received an honorable mention. The Academicians refused to believe that he was only fifteen. Victor moved in with his mother to 18 rue des Petits-Augustins the following year and began attending law school. Victor fell in love and secretly became engaged, against his mother's wishes, to his childhood friend Adèle Foucher. In June 1821 Sophie Trebuchet died, and Léopold married his long-time mistress Catherine Thomas a month later. Victor married Adèle the following year. In 1819, Victor and his brothers began publishing a periodical called Le Conservateur littéraire. Career Hugo published his first novel (Hans of Iceland, 1823) the year following his marriage, and his second three years later (Bug-Jargal, 1826). Between 1829 and 1840, he published five more volumes of poetry: Les Orientales, 1829; Les Feuilles d'automne, 1831; Les Chants du crépuscule, 1835; Les Voix intérieures, 1837; and Les Rayons et les Ombres, 1840. This cemented his reputation as one of the greatest elegiac and lyric poets of his time. Like many young writers of his generation, Hugo was profoundly influenced by François-René de Chateaubriand, the famous figure in the literary movement of Romanticism and France's pre-eminent literary figure during the early 19th century. In his youth, Hugo resolved to be "Chateaubriand or nothing", and his life would come to parallel that of his predecessor in many ways. Like Chateaubriand, Hugo furthered the cause of Romanticism, became involved in politics (though mostly as a champion of Republicanism), and was forced into exile due to his political stances. Along with Chateaubriand he attended the Coronation of Charles X in Reims in 1825.The precocious passion and eloquence of Hugo's early work brought success and fame at an early age. His first collection of poetry (Odes et poésies diverses) was published in 1822 when he was only 20 years old and earned him a royal pension from Louis XVIII. Though the poems were admired for their spontaneous fervor and fluency, the collection that followed four years later in 1826 (Odes et Ballades) revealed Hugo to be a great poet, a natural master of lyric and creative song. Victor Hugo's first mature w.... Discover the Victor Hugo popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Victor Hugo books.

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  • The Book Center 100 Masterpieces Collection synopsis, comments

    The Book Center 100 Masterpieces Collection

    Lewis Carroll, Emily Brontë, Victor Hugo, Edgar Rice Burroughs, E. M. Forster, Joseph Conrad, Homer, Aldous Huxley, Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, Alexandre Dumas, E. E. Cummings & H.P. Lovecraft

    This book,contains now several HTML tables of contents The first table of contents lists the titles of all novels included in this volume. By clicking on one of those titles you wi...

  • Victor Hugo synopsis, comments

    Victor Hugo

    Eugène de Mirecourt

    Victor Hugo Eugène de Mirecourt, journaliste et écrivain français (1812–1880) Ce livre numérique présente «Victor Hugo», de Eugène de Mirecourt, édité en texte intégral. Une table ...

  • Victor Hugo synopsis, comments

    Victor Hugo

    Alain Decaux

    Hugo revisité par Alain Decaux. Hugo revisité par Alain Decaux." Connaître mieux Hugo. Ou plutôt le connaître. Tel fut le propos de ma vie entière. Aller plus loin que le "témoin"...

  • Victor Hugo synopsis, comments

    Victor Hugo

    Pierre Paraf

    Cet ouvrage est une réédition numérique d’un livre paru au XXe siècle, désormais indisponible dans son format d’origine.

  • Mondes en VF - Victor Hugo habite chez moi - Niv. A1 - Ebook synopsis, comments

    Mondes en VF - Victor Hugo habite chez moi - Niv. A1 - Ebook

    Myriam Louviot

    Résumé  :« J’habite une belle maison. Chez moi, je suis le roi. Je fais ce que je veux et tout est parfait...Hmm, non, tout n’est pas parfait. En fait, j’ai un problème : Vict...

  • The Illusion of Separateness synopsis, comments

    The Illusion of Separateness

    Simon Van Booy

    “The uncanny beauty of Van Booy’s prose, and his ability to knife straight to the depths of a character’s heart, fill a reader with wonder.”  San Francisco ChronicleAward...

  • Les Miserables, in English translation synopsis, comments

    Les Miserables, in English translation

    Victor Hugo

    The epic tale of Jean Valjean (over a thousand pages), source of the Broadway musical. According to Wikipedia: "VictorMarie Hugo (1802 – 1885) was a French poet, playwright, noveli...

  • Victor Hugo synopsis, comments

    Victor Hugo

    Encyclopaedia Universalis

    Roman, critique, voyages, histoire dialoguent dans l'œuvre de Victor Hugo avec le lyrisme, l'épopée, le théâtre en un ensemble dont le « poète » a souvent proposé des articulations...

  • Les Miserables synopsis, comments

    Les Miserables

    Victor Hugo & Monica Kulling

    The classic noveland hit Broadway showabout escaped convict Jean Valjean has been adapted with easytoread text, large type, and short chapters.  This engaging adaptation ...

  • The Memoirs of Victor Hugo synopsis, comments

    The Memoirs of Victor Hugo

    Victor Hugo

    This volume of memoirs has a double character historical and intimate. The life of a period, the XIX Century, is bound up in the life of a man, VICTOR HUGO. As we follow the event...

  • Victor Hugo synopsis, comments

    Victor Hugo

    André Maurois

    Cet ouvrage est une réédition numérique d’un livre paru au XXe siècle, désormais indisponible dans son format d’origine.

  • Victor Hugo his Life and Work synopsis, comments

    Victor Hugo his Life and Work

    G. Barnett Smith

    G. Barnett Smith’s 1885 biography of Victor Hugo, author of such books as Les Misérables and The Hunchback of NotreDame, “relates the full story of his life, and now traces to its ...

  • Les Oeuvres de Victor Hugo synopsis, comments

    Les Oeuvres de Victor Hugo

    Victor Hugo

    Cet eBook énorme offre aux lecteurs l’occasion unique d’explorer des œuvres de fiction de Victor Hugo en français. (Version: 4) Tous les romans, chacun avec une table des matières...

  • Victor Hugo synopsis, comments

    Victor Hugo

    Ulysse Rouchon

    Cet ouvrage est une réédition numérique d’un livre paru au XXe siècle, désormais indisponible dans son format d’origine.

  • The Complete Novels of Victor Hugo synopsis, comments

    The Complete Novels of Victor Hugo

    Victor Hugo

    This meticulously edited collection is formatted for your eReader with a functional and detailed table of contents: Les Misérables The Hunchback of NotreDame Toilers of the Sea The...

  • Victor Hugo synopsis, comments

    Victor Hugo

    Algernon Charles Swinburne

    Algernon CharlesSwinburne, in this book, “Victor Hugo” talks about the story and life of a renowned French poet and novelist who communicates the joys and sorrows of people in writ...

  • Victor Hugo synopsis, comments

    Victor Hugo

    Ernest Dupuy

    Victor Hugo naquit à Besançon le septième jour de ventôse an X de la République, date qui correspond au 26 février de l’année 1802. Il faut donc restreindre un peu le sens de la fo...

  • Victor Hugo synopsis, comments

    Victor Hugo

    Agnès Sandras

    Le dernier géantLa vie et l'œuvre de Victor Hugo (18021885) incarnent le XIXe siècle par leur éclectisme, leur caractère visionnaire et leur immensité. Que ce soit en poésie (Les R...

  • The Hunchback of Notre Dame synopsis, comments

    The Hunchback of Notre Dame

    Victor Hugo & Isabel F. Hapgood

    "As much a love letter to the cathedral as it is the story of two doomed lovers." Smithsonian Magazine Written in 1831, The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo is a beloved Fren...

  • The Collected Works of Victor Hugo synopsis, comments

    The Collected Works of Victor Hugo

    Victor Hugo

    This comprehensive eBook presents the complete works or all the significant works the Œuvre of this famous and brilliant writer in one ebook 10090 pages easytoread and easytonav...

  • Victor Hugo synopsis, comments

    Victor Hugo

    Bernard Swysen

    Tout le monde a lu dans sa vie au moins un texte de Victor Hugo. Ecrivain prolifique, grande personnalité de son époque, amant passionné… Qui était l’homme ? C’est ce que nous...

  • The Victor Hugo Collection synopsis, comments

    The Victor Hugo Collection

    Victor Hugo & Classics HQ

    Victor Hugo was a French poet, novelist, and dramatist of the Romantic movement. Hugo is considered to be one of the greatest and bestknown French writers. Outside France, his most...

  • Victor Hugo synopsis, comments

    Victor Hugo

    Jules Bertaut

    Cet ouvrage est une réédition numérique d’un livre paru au XXe siècle, désormais indisponible dans son format d’origine.

  • Victor Hugo synopsis, comments

    Victor Hugo

    Raoul Willemenot

    Géant de la littérature universelle, profondément engagé dans toutes les aventures de son siècle, Victor Hugo a suscité  autour de sa personne et de son œuvre  ...

  • The Collected Works of Victor Hugo synopsis, comments

    The Collected Works of Victor Hugo

    W. B. Yeats

    The Collected Works of Victor Hugo is a collection of classic works by one of the most popular writers in history. The included works of Victor Hugo are The History of a Crime, The...

  • Victor Hugo synopsis, comments

    Victor Hugo

    George Barnett Smith

    With centuries of literature, it's inevitable that some will fall through the cracks. We hunt down public domain works and restore them so they're not lost to the world. Who are w...

  • Victor Hugo synopsis, comments

    Victor Hugo

    Karlheinrich Biermann

    Victor Hugo (1802 1885), der produktivste und populärste unter den großen Schriftstellern des 19. Jahrhunderts in Frankreich, ist hierzulande vor allem als Autor der Romane «Der G...

  • Little Women synopsis, comments

    Little Women

    Louisa May Alcott

    Meg is the eldest and on the brink of love. Then there’s tomboy Jo who longs to be a writer. Sweetnatured Beth always puts others first, and finally there’s Amy, the youngest and m...

  • 100 Books You Must Read Before You Die - synopsis, comments

    100 Books You Must Read Before You Die -

    Lewis Carroll, Emily Brontë, Victor Hugo, Edgar Rice Burroughs, E. M. Forster, Joseph Conrad, Homer, Aldous Huxley, Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, Alexandre Dumas, E. E. Cummings, H.P. Lovecraft & House of Classics

    This book,contains now several HTML tables of contents The first table of contents lists the titles of all novels included in this volume. By clicking on one of those titles you wi...

  • Victor Hugo synopsis, comments

    Victor Hugo

    Bradley Stephens

    Victor Hugo is an icon of French culture. He achieved immense success as a poet, dramatist, and novelist, and he was also elected to both houses of the French Parliament. Lead...

  • Victor Hugo synopsis, comments

    Victor Hugo

    Charles Renouvier

    Il n’y a pas à se dissimuler que la révolution littéraire en très grande partie commencée, poursuivie et accomplie par Victor Hugo a été une révolution opérée contre la raison, con...

  • Victor Hugo synopsis, comments

    Victor Hugo

    Jeanne Ozbolt

    Victor Hugo naît avec son siècle, le 26 février 1802. Il connaît tous les honneurs, légion d’honneur à 23 ans, Académie française à 39 ans, pair de France à 43 ans. Admiré par Chat...

  • Les Miserables synopsis, comments

    Les Miserables

    Victor Hugo, Lee Fahnestock, Norman MacAfee & Chris Bohjalian

    NOW A SIXPART MINISERIES ON MASTERPIECE ON PBSThe only completely unabridged paperback edition of Victor Hugo’s masterpiecea sweeping tale of love, loss, valor, and passion.In...

  • Victor Hugo synopsis, comments

    Victor Hugo

    George Barnett Smith

    Although completed and published after Hugo's death, Victor Hugo: His Life and Work was written while the author was alive and includes firsthand accounts of his encounters wit...

  • Delphi Complete Works of Victor Hugo synopsis, comments

    Delphi Complete Works of Victor Hugo

    Victor Hugo

    Victor Hugo, the brightest star of the Romantic Age, had a monumental impact on world literature, producing enduring classics such as LES MISÉRABLES and THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME...

  • Victor Hugo synopsis, comments

    Victor Hugo

    Marc Meganck & Hugues Hausman

    La Belgique est une terre d'exil, où vit le peuple d’Oubli. L'article de Marc Meganck ne nous remémore pas les instants passés de Victor Hugo à Bruxelles, il nous les conte et nous...