Victor Hugo: A Life in Moments
26 February 1802
Hugo is born in Besancon, France.
26 February 1802
1815 - 1818
First Steps
- Attends the Lycée Louis-Le Grand in Paris.
- Honoured by the French Academy for a poem he wrote and wins first place in a national poetry competition. Hugo was an excellent student who excelled in mathematics, physics and philosophy.
1822
Early Works and Family Life
- His first book, Odes et Poésies Diverses (Miscellaneous Odes and Verses) is published.
- Wins a pension of 1,000 Francs a year from Louis XVIII.
- Marries Adele Foucher who becomes the mother of his children; Leopold-Victor, Charles- Victor, Francois-Victor, Adele and Leopoldine.
1822
1827 - 1830
Cromwell and the Rise of Romantic Rebellion
- Cromwell, Hugo's play is published and in the foreword, he wrote about gaining freedom from the classical restrictions. This started the debate between French Classicism and Romanticism.
- Hugo became one of the leaders of a group of Romantic rebels who were trying to loosen the hold of classical literature in France.
1831
Notre-Dame de Paris
Hugo's next book, Notre-Dame de Paris (The Hunchback of Notre Dame) is published. This book, not only increased his popularity and reputation as the greatest writer in France, but also brought about his election to the French Academy in 1841.
1831
1833
The Scandal
Actress Juliette Drouet became his mistress and supported by a small pension, she became his unpaid secretary and travelling companion for the next fifty years.
1843
A Series of Unfortunate Events
- In this year Hugo's daughter Léopoldine was drowned, along with her husband and his play Les Burgraves was a failure.
- For the next few years, Hugo decided to focus on the growing social problems in France and did not write at all.
1843
1848 - 1851
French Revolution
- The year of the French Revolution. By now, Hugo was a Republican and an avid advocate of social injustice.
- After the unsuccessful revolt against President Louis Napoleon (later Emperor Napoleon III), when Hugo risked execution by trying to rally the workers of Paris against the new Emperor, he fled to Brussels.
1862
Les Misérables
Les Misérables, his longest and most famous work is published. This novel is about the social injustice of 19th century France in which the main character, Jean Valjean, is sentenced to prison for 19 years for stealing a loaf of bread.
1862
22 May 1885
Death
- At the age of eighty-three, Victor Hugo died in Paris.
- June 1: He was given a national funeral attended by over two million people.
- His body was laid in state under the L'Arc de Triomphe and he was later borne on a pauper's hearse, in accordance with his wishes, to be buried in the Panthéon, the burial place of many great French people.