Carolyn and I have long appreciated the work of French author, poet, playwright, and politician Victor Hugo, who is considered one of France’s greatest writers, celebrated for his epic novels Les Misérables and The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, which brought attention to social injustice and the plight of the marginalized. He was also a powerful poet, dramatist, and political figure who championed human rights, abolition of the death penalty, and democratic ideals. Exiled for opposing Napoleon III, Hugo became a symbol of resistance and moral conscience, and his legacy helped shape French literature, politics, and culture.

Victor-Marie Hugo was born in Besancon, France, in 1802. Hugo’s father was a high-ranking officer in Napoleon’s army who rose to the rank of general and was often stationed abroad. His mother was a staunch Royalist with literary interests, who managed the household and strongly influenced Victor’s early upbringing, especially during his father’s long absences. Their opposing political views created tension, and his mother eventually separated from Hugo’s father, raising Victor primarily on her own.

Hugo was sensitive, observant, and highly imaginative as a child, often lost in books and daydreams. He showed precocious writing talent and began composing poetry at an early age. Despite the instability caused by his parents’ strained relationship and frequent moves, he developed a deep inner world and a strong moral sense that would later shape his literary voice.

During these early years, Hugo lived primarily in Paris with his mother after she separated from his father, though he also spent time in Avellino, Italy, where his father was stationed. In 1811, at age nine, Hugo entered the prestigious Lycée Louis-le-Grand in Paris, beginning a rigorous classical education that sharpened his literary talents. In 1819, he won a prestigious poetry prize from the Académie des Jeux Floraux for an unpublished poem— one of his earliest public recognitions, marking him as a rising literary talent.

During this time, Hugo grew close to Adèle Foucher, his childhood friend, with whom he began a secret romantic correspondence. Hugo’s world changed profoundly in 1821 when his beloved mother died; this loss both devastated him and gave him the freedom to pursue his relationship with Adèle more openly. That same year, he and his brothers launched a royalist literary journal, Le Conservateur Littéraire, marking the start of his public literary career.

In 1822, Hugo married Foucher, fulfilling a long-held romance, and published his first book of poetry, Odes and Various Poems, which earned him a royal pension from King Louis XVIII. Hugo quickly rose to prominence in the Romantic movement, and in 1827, even though his play Cromwell wasn’t performed, its bold introduction stirred public attention by laying out the key ideas of Romantic literature. Due to its length and the logistical challenges of staging such a large cast of characters, the play remained unperformed until 1956.

During this period, Hugo had several children and began experimenting with novel-writing. In 1830, his play “Hernani” premiered at the Comédie-Française, igniting a cultural battle between Classicists and Romantics and marking a decisive victory for the Romantic movement. In 1831, he published his novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, which became a literary sensation and helped spark interest in preserving Gothic architecture. During this time, Hugo’s household became more complicated as he and his wife both began having extramarital affairs.

Historical records and Hugo’s journals suggest that for many years, Hugo regularly visited and financially supported several sex workers, most notably a woman named Léonie d’Aunet, who was also his longtime mistress and a writer herself. While married to Foucher, Hugo maintained numerous extramarital relationships, often visiting prostitutes in Paris and even documenting these encounters in private notebooks with coded symbols and numbers. His writings reveal a complex, often romanticized view of these women, reflecting both a genuine emotional involvement and the era’s patriarchal attitudes.

During the late 1830s, Hugo continued to gain literary prestige while also becoming more engaged in public life. He published several successful works, including the novel The Sea Devils and another poetry collection in 1837. He was elected to the Académie Française in 1841, a major honor solidifying his place in the French literary elite after years of rejection. Around this time, he also began to turn his attention toward politics and social issues, laying the groundwork for his later political activism. These years marked a transition from celebrated writer to national public figure.

In 1843, Hugo’s beloved daughter Léopoldine drowned in a boating accident, a loss that devastated him and led to a period of deep mourning and creative silence. Emerging from grief, he increasingly turned toward politics, becoming a vocal advocate for social reform. In 1845, Hugo was appointed to the Chamber of Peers by King Louis-Philippe, and by 1848, during the revolution that established the Second Republic, he was elected to the National Assembly.

During the early 1850s, Hugo became an outspoken critic of authoritarianism and entered into exile. After fiercely opposing Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte’s 1851 coup d’état and the rise of the Second Empire, Hugo was forced to flee France, beginning a long period of exile on the islands of Jersey and then Guernsey. Despite being cut off from his homeland, he remained politically active through his writing — publishing Napoléon le Petit in 1852 and Les Châtiments in 1853, both scathing critiques of the regime. This period also marked a creative renaissance, as he began working on Les Misérables and solidified his role as a moral voice for justice and liberty from afar.

In 1862, Hugo completed and published his magnum opus Les Misérables, after over a decade of work. Les Misérables is a sweeping tale of redemption, justice, and compassion that follows ex-convict Jean Valjean’s journey to rebuild his life while being relentlessly pursued by the law amid the social struggles of 19th-century France. The novel was an immediate international success and solidified his status as a literary and moral authority. During this time, he also published La Légende des Siècles in 1859, an ambitious poetic chronicle of humanity’s spiritual evolution, and Les Contemplations in 1856, which mourned his daughter Léopoldine.

Hugo’s spiritual perspective was deeply humanistic, mystical, and evolving. Though raised Catholic, he grew disillusioned with organized religion and embraced a personal, expansive sense of the divine— believing in God, the soul’s immortality, and a moral universe guided by justice and love. He saw the human spirit as on a journey toward enlightenment, often expressing faith in progress, compassion, and the triumph of conscience. His writings reflect a profound reverence for the mystery of existence, blending spiritual idealism with a passionate call for social and moral transformation.

In 1862, shortly after the publication of Les Misérables, Hugo was curious about the public’s reception of his monumental novel, and he sent his publisher a letter consisting of a single character: “?”. In response, the publisher sent back an equally terse reply: “!”. This brief but iconic exchange is said to be the shortest correspondence in history and reflects both Hugo’s wit and the instant success of his masterpiece.

During the 1860s, Hugo continued his exile on Guernsey, producing a steady stream of literary and political works that deepened his reputation as a prophetic voice of conscience. Although still barred from France, his fame only grew, and he remained a vocal critic of Napoleon III’s regime. In 1870, with the fall of the Second Empire following the Franco-Prussian War, Hugo triumphantly returned to Paris, where he was welcomed as a national hero.

Hugo reestablished himself in France and remained a towering public figure during the early years of the Third Republic. In 1871, he briefly served as a senator and defended the Paris Commune, though he was critical of its violence. He published politically charged works, reflecting on the trauma of war and civil strife. During these years, Hugo endured personal losses— the deaths of his son Charles in 1871 and his other son François-Victor in 1873 — but continued writing, releasing The Legend of the Ages and The Art of Being a Grandfather,  expressing both sorrow and a tender love for his grandchildren. Despite his grief, he remained a revered symbol of resilience and humanist ideals.

During the early 1880s, Hugo’s health began to decline. In 1878, he suffered a mild stroke, which limited his public activity, though he continued writing, working on his poetry collection The Four Winds of the Mind, which was published in 1881. Hugo was celebrated across France on his 80th birthday in 1882, drawing massive public admiration. Despite personal frailty, Hugo lived to see his ideas widely embraced, embodying the moral conscience of France in his final years.

In the final year of his life, Hugo was gravely ill and largely bedridden, yet he remained a revered symbol of the French Republic and a moral beacon to the public. As his health declined, crowds gathered daily outside his Paris home to pay tribute. He died in 1885, at the age of 83. Hugo’s death prompted a national outpouring of grief, and he was given a state funeral attended by over two million people. Hugo was buried in the Panthéon, alongside other great figures of French history, cementing his legacy as a literary giant and champion of justice.

Hugo’s legacy is that of a towering literary genius and a fearless advocate for justice, freedom, and human dignity. His novels, especially Les Misérables and The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, continue to resonate worldwide for their emotional power and social conscience. As a poet, playwright, and political thinker, he helped shape the Romantic movement and championed causes like the abolition of the death penalty and the defense of the poor and oppressed. Revered in his lifetime and ever since, Hugo remains a symbol of moral courage and artistic brilliance whose work transcends time and borders.

Hugo’s Les Misérables has experienced renewed success in recent years through both stage and screen adaptations. The 2012 film adaptation, directed by Tom Hooper, achieved significant acclaim and won three Academy Awards. On stage, Les Misérables continues to captivate audiences globally. The musical’s enduring popularity is evident in its ongoing tours and revivals. These adaptations underscore the lasting impact of Hugo’s narrative, resonating with contemporary audiences through powerful performances and innovative presentations.

Here are some of Victor Hugo’s most beloved and enduring quotes, which capture the soul of his thought:

Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent.

A garden to walk in and immensity to dream in— what more could he ask for? A few flowers at his feet and above him the stars.

Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise.

It is nothing to die. It is frightful not to live.

Laughter is sunshine, it chases winter from the human face.

Certain thoughts are prayers. There are moments when, whatever be the attitude of the body, the soul is on its knees

To love or have loved, that is enough. Ask nothing further. There is no other pearl to be found in the dark folds of life.

Those who do not weep, do not see.

To love another person is to see the face of God.

Victor Hugo’s vision still invites us to dream of a more just, compassionate world — one in which, even after the darkest night, the sun still rises.

by David Jay Brown