Victor Hugo Bio
Victor Marie Hugo, son of Sophie Trébuche and Joseph Léopold Sigisbert Hugo, was born in Besançon, France, on February 26, 1802.
Hugo embarked on a literature career while studying law between 1815 and 1818. He founded the Conservateur Litteraire as a portfolio for his writing, and married Adèle Foucher and published his first poetry book the year his mother died. He published his first novel in 1823, developing his romanticism style over the first decade of his career.
He published his most celebrated work, Notre Dame de Paris, in 1831, presenting a harsh criticism of society.
He was established as a celebrated literary figure in 1840,and elected into the French Academy in 1841, but stepped down from publishing due to his daughter drowning while with her husband, rowing on a lake. He privately began writing Les Misérables.
Following a coup, he fled to Brussels in 1851 and lived there until 1870, publishing Les Misérables in 1862. It became an immediate success.
After his return, he lost two sons between 1871 and 1873 causing his writing to become darker.
He continued to live in Paris with his mistress Juliette after being stricken with cerebral congestion, and after his death, received a hero’s funeral.
