Victor Hugo

Victor Hugo (1802–1885) was a French writer and politician. He wrote poetry, novels, and plays and is regarded as one of the major figures of French Romanticism. His best-known works include The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, Les Misérables, Les Contemplations, Hernani, and Ruy Blas. In the prefaces to Cromwell and Hernani, he set out key principles of Romantic drama. Hugo was elected to the Académie française in 1841. Because of his opposition to Napoleon III, he went into exile in 1851; during this period, he completed works including Les Misérables. He was born in Besançon and died in Paris.