Victor HUGO

Victor Hugo (1802-1885) was one of the leading writers of French literature and an emblematic figure of Romanticism. A poet, novelist, playwright, and statesman, he spanned the entire 19th century, profoundly shaping cultural and public life.
He established himself as a poet at a very young age before revolutionizing theater with Hernani. His major novels—Notre-Dame de Paris, Les Misérables, Les Travailleurs de la Mer, and Quatrevingt-Treize—secured him enduring international renown. A fierce opponent of Napoleon III, he spent nearly twenty years in exile, during which he wrote several of his most powerful works, including Les Châtiments and Les Contemplations.
Following the fall of the Empire, he became a leading voice of republicanism, championing liberty, social justice, and human rights. At his death in 1885, he was honored with a state funeral and laid to rest in the Panthéon, celebrated as one of the greatest writers in history.