The Life of Victor Hugo
Victor Hugo was born on February 26, 1802, in Besançon, France. After training as a lawyer, Hugo began on his literary career. He became one of the most important French Romantic poets, novelists and dramatists of his time, having assembled a massive body of work while living in Paris, Brussels and the Channel Islands (Victor Hugo).
Hugo studied law between 1815 and 1818. He never fully committed himself to legal practice. Victors Mother saw he wasn’t very into law and convinced him to follow his passion and have a career in literature. Shortly after he founded the conservateur litteraire, a journal in which he published his own work and the work of his friends. In 1821 Hugo’s mother died and in the same year, Hugo married Adèle Foucher and published his first book of poetry, Odes et poésies diverses (Victor Hugo Biography). His first novel was published in 1823, followed by a number of plays.
Victor was established as one of the most celebrated literary figures in france by the 1840’s. (French Writer)In 1841 he was elected to the French Academy and nominated for the chamber of peers. He took a break from publishing and writing after his daughter and her husband accidentally drowned. In private, he began work on a piece of writing that would become Les Miserables.
Later in life, Victor returned to France after 1870 as a symbol of republican triumph. His later years were filled with sadness because he lost two sons between 1871 and 1873. His later work are somewhat darker than his earlier writing, focusing on themes of God, Satan, and Death. In 1878, he was stricken with cerebral congestion.(Victor Hugo Biography) Hugo and his mistress, Juliette, continued to live in Paris for the rest of their lives. The street on which he lived was renamed Avenue Victor Hugo on the occasion of his 80th birthday in 1882. Juliette died the following year and Victor Hugo died in Paris on May 22, 1885. (Victor Hugo) He received a hero's funeral....