VICTOR HUGO

Victor Hugo (1802–1885) is one of the most monumental figures in French culture. A leading figure of Romanticism, he left his mark on his century with an immense body of work encompassing all genres: the novel, with Les Misérables and Notre-Dame de Paris; poetry, with Les Contemplations; and theater, with Hernani. Beyond the writer, Hugo was a committed politician and a staunch defender of liberties. A Peer of France, then a member of parliament, he strongly opposed Napoleon III's coup d'état, which earned him 19 years of exile in the Channel Islands. He fought throughout his life against social injustice and for the abolition of the death penalty. Upon his death, a grand national funeral was held, and he now rests in the Panthéon.