Les Miserables

Victor Hugo

༺୨༒ About The Author ༒୧༻

   Victor Hugo's contribution to literature is indeed unparalleled, and his brilliance and eloquence in writing are unquestionable. His popularity is based not only on his writing but also on his political ideas and convictions.

   Hugo was a playwright, essayist, poet, visual artist, and advocate of human rights.

    In 1819, at age seventeen, Hugo was awarded the Lys D'or by the Academie des Jeux Floraux, and by twenty-one, he released his first collection of poetry (Odes et poesies diverses), earning him a royal pension from King Louis XVII.

    Though his works are greatly loved and admired, critics have always been harsh and skeptical of his talent. It was only at age twenty-nine, in 1831 that his novel Notre Dame de Paris, more popularly known as Hunchback of Notre Dame, became a worldwide masterpiece and placed him beside literary giants.

The publication of his novel Les Miserables in 1862 further cemented his reputation as a leading romance novelist.

Hugo was an ardent supporter of republicans, which is reflected in the themes of his work-political and social issues, which are current trends of that time. The adoration of the French toward him continued until his death in 1885 when two million people, the largest mass mobilization ever seen in France at that time, paid their last respects to this literary giant.

This is a confirmation that Hugo's legacy will live on for generations to come and his works immortalized for future readers to appreciate and live by.