Known for his widely published and translated novels Les Miserables and Notre-Dame de Paris, Victor Hugo was also a prolific writer of political poetry and prose. Through his exile from France into Belgium and eventually England, he was able to reflect on and discuss in his writings the political strain within France and apply it to prose that was appreciated by general society and academics alike.

Although his father was a general in Napoleon’s army, the young Victor leaned more towards the beliefs of his mother. His mother, who was a royalist, separated from his father due to their differences and took Hugo to Paris where he would live and go to school. He studied at the Pension Cordier and the school named Louis Le Grand. He went on to study law in Paris, but soon lost interest and his studies were forsaken.

Upon the death of his mother, Victor married Adele Foucher and the two had five children together. After the birth of his first child, he published poetry that he dedicated to Louis XVIII, which earned him a modest pension to support his further writings. Hugo became part of the Romanticism hype of the day and thereafter published several more works in the genre, including The Slave King and Muse Francaise, along with Nouvelle Odes.

With the publication of The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, which gained national fervor, especially in Paris, for its depiction of how medieval society causes pain and punishment for the undeserving Hunchback. Soon after, Hugo published four books of poetry, which held to stringent rules of rhyme and verse. His poems often touched on the political and societal side of life. He praised the ways of Napoleon, but also highlighted the need for a republic in France.

During this time, Hugo wrote no less than six to eight hours per day. He had a lot he wanted to say to the public, including his and others’ social ideologies, and used the theater to share his messages. He was later nominated to the French Academy and the Chamber of Peers. Hugo was also elected to the Legislative Assembly where a coup d'etat took place and he was forced to flee to Belgium. Following, he fled to England where he devoted his time to more political writings, including Histoire d’une Crime, The End of Satan and God, and where he finished and released Les Miserables.

• Orson Welles
• George Orwell
• Ernest Hemingway
• Andre Gide
• Voltaire
• Napoleon Bonaparte
• Queen Victoria
• Charles Dickens
• William Shakspeare