Victor Hugo

French, 1802–1885

Victor Hugo (1802–1885) was a French novelist, poet, and dramatist who is considered one of the greatest writers of the nineteenth century. Les Misérables, his epic novel of justice, redemption, and revolution, remains one of the most widely read and adapted works of fiction in the world. The Hunchback of Notre-Dame helped preserve the famous Parisian cathedral. Hugo was also a passionate political activist who spent years in exile opposing Napoleon III.