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ABOUT VICTOR HUGO

Victor was an excellent student whoexcelled in mathematics, physics,philosophy, French literature, Latin,and Greek. He won rst place in anational poetry contest when he was 17.As a teenager, he fell in love witha neighbours daughter, AdeleFoucher. However, his motherdiscouraged the romance, believingthat her son should marry into a ner family. When his mother diedin 1821, Victor refused to accept nancial help from his father. Helived in abject poverty for a year, butthen won a pension of 1,000 francsa year from Louis XVIII for his rstvolume of verse. Barely out of histeens, Hugo became a hero to thecommon people as well as a favouriteof heads of state. Throughout hislifetime, he played a major role inFrances political evolution from

dictatorship to democracy.

He lived in abject povertyfor a year, but then wona pension of 1,000 francs ayear from Louis XVIII.In 1822, he married Adele Foucher,who became the mother of hischildren, Leopold-Victor, Charles-Victor, Francois-Victor, Adele, andLeopoldine.

In 1830, Victor became one of theleaders of a group of Romanticrebels who were trying to loosenthe hold of classical literature inFrance. His play Hernani, whosepremiere was interrupted by st- ghts between Hugos admirers anddetractors, took a large step towardsa more realistic theatre and madehim a rich man.

VICTOR HUGOS enormouslysuccessful career covered most ofthe nineteenth century and spannedboth the Romantic and Realisticmovements. A great poet, novelist,playwright, essayist, pamphleteer,diarist, politician and moralist, Hugowas a man of immense passion andendless contradictions.

Hugo was born on February 26,1802. His father, General JosephLeopold Hugo, was the son of acarpenter who rose through theranks of Napoleons citizen army.However, Victors mother decidednot to subject her three sons to thedif culties of army life, and settledin Paris to raise them. MadameHugo became the mistress of herhusbands commanding of cer,General Lahorie, who was a father gure to Hugo and his brothers untilthe Generals execution in 1812.

During the next 15 years heproduced six plays, four volumesof verse, and the romantic historicalnovelThe Hunchback of Notre Dame, establishing his reputation asthe greatest writer in France.

In 1831, Adele Hugo becameromantically involved with a wellknown critic and good friend ofVictors named Sainte-Beuve. Victor

became involved with the actressJuliette Drouet, who became hismistress in 1833. Supported by asmall pension from Hugo, Drouetbecame his unpaid secretary andtravelling companion for the next fty years.

After losing one of his daughtersin a drowning accident andexperiencing the failure of his

play Les Burgraves in 1843, Hugodecided to focus on the growingsocial problems in France. Hewas joined in his increasinginterest in politics by a number ofother Romantic writers, markingthe beginning of the Realistic-Naturalistic era in French literature.


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ABOUT VICTOR HUGO

Napoleon, returned to his poetry andpublished several novels including Les Misrables, which he had begunyears earlier.

Over 3 million spectatorsfollwed his cortege to thePantheon.When Les Misrables was published

in Brussels in 1862, it was animmediate popular success in spiteof negative reaction by critics, whoconsidered it overly sentimental, andthe government, who banned it.

After the Franco-Prussian Warand the fall of the Empire in 1870,Hugo made a triumphant return toParis. He remained there throughthe siege of the city and contributed

Hugo was a moderate republicanwho was made a Peer of France in1845. After the Revolution of 1848and the founding of the SecondRepublic, he was elected a deputyto the Constitutional Assembly.Three years later, when LouisNapoleon abolished the Republicand reestablished the Empire, Hugorisked execution trying to rally theworkers of Paris against the newEmperor. However, his efforts failed,and he had to escape to Brussels.

As a result, Hugo spent the nextdecade in exile with his familyand Mme. Drouet on the islands ofJersey and Guernsey. During theseyears, he wrote satires about Louis

portions of his royalties to purchaseweapons. He lost two sons, one in1871 and one in 1873. Although hewas elected to the Senate in 1876,poor health caused him to return toGuernsey. Mme. Hugo died in 1868and Mme. Drouet in 1882.

Hugo died in 1885 at the age ofeighty-three. Although he leftinstructions that his funeral besimple, over 3 million spectatorsfollowed his cortege to the Pantheon,where he was buried amid Francesgreat men. Hugos death cameat the end of a century of war,civil con ict, brutally repressedinsurrections such as the studentrebellion in Les Misrables, andsocial injustice. Because of his beliefin the triumph of good over evil andhis pleading for tolerance and non-

violence, Victor Hugo was the heraldof the new democratic spirit.


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ABOUT THE NOVEL

him. Inside there was a dazzlinglybeautiful woman dressed in velvet,playing with a child hidden underribbons, embroidery and furs. Theimpoverished man stared at thewoman in the carriage, but she wastotally unaware of him. Hugo wrotethat he saw this man as, the spectreof misery, the ghostly forewarningin full light of day, in the sunshine,of the revolution still plungedin the shadows of darkness, butemerging from them. The momenthe become aware of her existence,while she remained unaware of his,a catastrophe was inevitable.

WhenLes Misrables was published in 1862, itgenerated more excitementthan any book in thehistory of publishing.As the years passed, Les Misrables evolved as Hugos own lifeexperiences shaped his philosophy.He incorporated personal memoriesof all kinds in the novel, oftenmixing everyday trivial fact with ction to give the story a sense of journalistic truth. By the time it waspublished in 1862, it had become

an epic novel, expressed in richprose within a strong framework ofhistory, philosophy, and politicaltheory. This is a leviathan I amabout to ship out to sea, he saidbefore publishing.

When Les Misrables waspublished in 1862, it generatedmore excitement than any book inthe history of publishing. It waswidely advertised in Paris withgiant sketched portraits of Cosette,Fantine, Marius and Jean Valjean.

LES MISRABLES is a melodramaticnovel written from the premisethat any man can rise above hiscircumstances to reach perfection.The plot of the novel is suspensefulfrom start to nish; it follows bothJean Valjeans and societys struggleswith good and evil.

Hugo began to think about Les Misrables as early as 1829. Heobserved the speci c incidentthat triggers the novels action onthe streets of Paris in 1845. Ona sunny but cold day, he saw animpoverished man being arrestedfor stealing a loaf of bread. Asthe man stood on the street, anornate carriage pulled up beside

Foreshadowing the success story ofthe musical, over one hundred yearslater, the novel Les Misrables was,initially, a popular, rather than acritical, triumph. All the reviews,wrote Hugo, are reactionary andmore or less hostile.

Like the musical, critical opinionhad absolutely no effect onpublic interest in Les Misrables.Bookshop owners and other vendorsliterally battled to buy copies of thebook for their customers. Long linesand traf c jams were observed allover the city as people fought to buyone of the 48,000 copies put on salethe rst day.

This phenomenon was echoed in1985, when the musical version ofHugos novel opened in London

to mostly poor reviews. WhenCameron Mackintosh, discouragedby the adverse critical response,called the box of ce, he was greetedby a happily busy ticket salesman.


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ABOUT THE NOVEL

The book was a sensationin America, whose owncivil unrest at the timeseemed to many to mirrorthe events and feelings ofthe novel.The initial French language successwas copied all over the world assoon as the book became availablein translation. The book was asensation in America, whose owncivil unrest at the time seemedto many to mirror the events andfeelings of the novel. Indeed,Confederate soldiers read the novelvoraciously, calling themselvesLees Miserables.As with any work of art pleading

Im amazed you managed to getthrough, Mackintosh was told,the phones havent stoppedringing. As with the novel, thestory of Les Misrables had toucheda common chord, and its greatsuccess was built on word of mouth.

Hugo wrote about his book, I dontknow if it will be read by everyone,but it is meant for everyone. Itaddresses England as well as Spain,Italy as well as France, Germany aswell as Ireland, the republics thatharbour slaves as well as empiresthat have serfs. Social problemsgo beyond frontiers... To furtherhis goal of presenting the ideasof Les Misrables to as wide anaudience as possible, Hugo urgedhis publishers to bring out cheapereditions of the book in small print to

make it available to ordinary people.

for social change, the novel Les Misrables acquired manyenemies. Conservatives feared thesocial impact of the novel, and theVatican banned it for several years.A theatrical version, written byHugos son Charles, was bannedin France, opening instead inBrussels. The French newspaperThe Constitutionnel wrote thatif the ideas of the novel were

acknowledged, no part of the socialorder would remain standing.

Nonetheless, Les Misrables hasbeen translated into nearly everylanguage and, during the pastcentury, has become one of the best-selling books in history.


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1811Sophie Hugo makes one last attemptto resume marital relations withLopold, and joins him, with herfamily, in Spain. Lopold hears ofhis wifes affair with Lahorie andsues her for divorce. Sophie andher children return to Paris a fewmonths later.

1812Lahorie is executed for plottingNapoleons downfall.

1814Back in France, General LopoldHugo distinguishes himself at thesiege of Thionville. Sophie Hugosues him for maintenance.

1815France becomes a monarchy oncemore under Louis XVIII. GeneralLopold Hugo mistakenly hopesthat by rallying to Louis XVIII inextremis he will be able to stay inthe army. He is retired on half-pay.

1815 - 1824Reign of Louis XVIII.

1820Victor Hugos Ode to the Deathof the Duc de Berri attracts theattention of the Court. Louis XVIIIsends him 500 francs.

1821Death of Sophie Hugo. LopoldHugo marries his mistress, CatherineThomas.

1822Victor Hugo marries childhoodsweetheart Adle Foucher.

1823Birth of Victor Hugos rst son,

Lopold Victor.

1772Birth of Sophie-FrancoiseTrbuchet, Victor Hugos mother.

1773Birth of Lopold-Sigisbert Hugo,Victor Hugos father.

1789French Revolution begins.

1798First French Republic proclaimed.1792 - 95The republican Convention, endingin Robespierres terror.

1793Louis XVI executed. The Chouans(royalist Breton insurgents) begintheir full-scale civil war againstthe republican French government.Lopold-Sigisbert Hugo, an of cer

in the republican army, is posted toBritanny as part of the repressivepeace-keeping force.

1795 - 1799Le Directoire, the rst post-revolution government.

1796Lopold-Sigisbert, on patrol, meetsSophie-Francoise Trbuchet, aRoyalist, veri es her identity papers,

searches her parents farm, and fallsin love with her.

1797Marriage in Paris of Sophie Trbuchetand Lopold-Sigisbert Hugo.

1798Birth of Abel Hugo, Victor Hugoselder brother (who dies, insane,1855).

1799 - 1804The Consulat. Bonaparte takescommand.

1802Birth of Victor-Marie Hugo.

1803Lopold-Sigisbert Hugo posted toElba in disgrace, remains there withhis three small sons (Eugene, theyoungest, is born in 1803) whileSophie Hugo remains in Paris, andis befriended by General VictorLahorie, her husbands formercommanding of cer. Lopold andSophie drift apart; he takes up withCatherine Thomas (a nurse), andbegins living with her. Sophie Hugo nally rejoins her husband in Elbabrie y, but they quarrel constantly.

1804 - 1815French Empire; rise and fall of theNapoleonic Empire, ending with thebattle of Waterloo.

1804Napoleon crowns himself at NotreDame; French Empire proclaimed.Sophie and her three children returnto Paris, settling at 24 Rue de Chichy.General Lahorie, now retired andwanted by the police for plottingagainst Napoleon, lives at no.19.

1807Lopold Hugo promoted coloneland posted to Naples, where hemakes a favourable impression onNapoleons younger brother Joseph.

1808Joseph Bonaparte is made Kingof Spain by Napoleon. LopoldHugo follows the French King toSpain and gets a lucrative staff

appointment.

VICTOR HUGO CHRONOLOGY


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VICTOR HUGO CHRONOLOGY

1824 - 30Reign of Charles X.

1824Birth of Victor Hugos rst daughter,Lopoldine.

1825Victor Hugo awarded the LgiondHonneur for services to literature.

1826Birth of Victor Hugos second son,Charles Victor.

1828Death of General Lopold-SigisbertHugo. Birth of Victor Hugos thirdson, Francois-Victor.

1830Premiere of Victor Hugos play,Hernani, interrupted by st ghtsbetween admirers and detractors.

Birth of second daughter Adle.1830 - 1848Reign of King Louis Philippe.

1831Victor Hugo publishes Notre-Damede Paris.

1832Hugo meets Juliette Drouet. Funeralof General Lamque hero toworkers and students degeneratesinto riots, and the barricadesdescribed in Les Misrables.

1836Applies for membership ofAcademie Franaise; fails.

1839Second Academie Franaise electionattempt again ends in failure.

1841Victor Hugo nally elected to theAcademie Franaise.

1843Death of Lopoldine Hugo.

1845Victor Hugo starts writing Les Misrables.

1848 - 1851Reign of King Louis Philippe endswith uprising and Louis Napoleonbecomes President of the SecondFrench Republic

18512 December: Louis Napoleondissolves Parliament, is proclaimedPresident with full powers for tenyears, rati ed by a plebiscite. VictorHugo leaves hastily for Brussels.

1852Louis Napoleon proclaims himselfEmperor as Napoleon III. VictorHugo settles rst in Jersey then inGuernsey.1852 - 1870Emperor Napoleon III establishescordial relations with Britain. Hugovows not to set foot on French soiltill his removal.

1853Victor Hugo publishes poetry, LesChatiments to great acclaim.

1856Publication of more poetry, LesContemplations.

1861Victor Hugo completes Les Misrables.

1862 Les Misrables published in Parisand Brussels.

1868Adle Hugo dies.

1870Franco-Prussian war ends withdisastrous battle of Sedan. NapoleonIII ees France and settles inEngland. October Victor Hugoreturns to Paris, is elected a memberof parliament by the Parisiens.

1871Victor Hugo resigns fromParliament; following the death ofhis son, Charles, he goes to Brusselsto settle the family inheritance.

1871April-May Paris Communeuprising, soon crushed, leads toappalling carnage and repression.

1871August From Brussels, Hugoprotests against the BelgianGovernments refusal to give eeingCommunards status of politicalexiles. His Brussels home is stonedand he is declared persona non gratain Belgium, moving to Luxembourg,returning brie y to Paris, then toGuernsey to writeQuatre-Vingt-Treize.

1875Victor Hugo settles permanently inParis and is appointed Senator.

1882Death of Juliette Drouet.

188523 May Victor Hugo dies.

18851 June State funeral attended byover three million people.


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EMILE BAYARD was VictorHugos favourite illustrator, famousin his own lifetime for his brilliantportraits of Fantine, ponine,Valjean and Javert, but best knowntoday by people all over the worldfor his Cosette, used originally onthe sleeve of the French Les Misrecord in 1980, and now famous asthe Les Misrables logo.

Bayard, a proli c lithographer formagazines and books (he illustratedthe works of Edmond About - thena fashionable novelist, almost aswell-known as Hugo himself), wasone of the leaders of the nineteenth-century academic painting school,somewhat unjustly known as lestyle pompier.

With in nite attention to detail,Emile Bayard worked for monthson huge paintings, of which thebest known are After the Battleof Waterloo and Sedan 1870.His real talent, however, lay in hisabilities as a brilliant portraitist.In the tradition of the time, he alsoused his drawing skills to reworkoriginal sketches by explorersand travellers, sometimes eventransforming pictures of exoticplaces into lithographs. A closefriend of Honor Daumier andcartoonists such as Paul Gavarni,Henri Monnier, Alfred Grevin,Jean-Louis Forain and EmmanuelPoir (better known as CarandAche), he wrote about theirwork about spotting fakes, andidentifying antiques.

ABOUT EMILE BAYARD

Cosette Emile Bayard

Quintessentially a wealthy Parisiansociety painter with pupils and hisown atelier, Emile Bayard showeda remarkable understanding ofVictor Hugos work as seen in hisillustrations of the cast of charactersin Les Misrables.


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1910The rst American lm,GalleySlaves, is produced as a silent lm,directed by James Stuart Blackton.

1935The rst American sound version isproduced by Richard Boleslawski.

1980The original arena production ofthe Boublil-Schnberg musical, Les Misrables, is presented at the Palaisdes Sports, Paris.

1985 Les Misrables opens at theBarbican Theatre in London.

1987 Les Misrables opens at theBroadway Theatre in New York.

THE HISTORY that led to the noveland the musical.

1845Victor Hugo starts writing Les Misrables.

1848 - 1851Reign of King Louis Philippe endswith uprising and Louis Napoleon

becomes President of the SecondFrench Republic.

1792First French Republic declared.

1792 - 95The republican Convention,ending in Robespierres terror.

1793Louis XVI executed. The Royalinsurgents begin their full scale civilwar against the republican FrenchGovernment. Victor Hugo describesthis con ict in his novel93.

1795 - 99Le Directoire becomes the rstpost-revolution government.

1799 - 1804The Consulate; NapoleonBonaparte takes command.

1804 - 15French Empire; the rise and fall ofNapoleon, ending with the battle ofWaterloo.

1815France becomes a monarchy againwith Louis XVIII as King.

1824 - 30The reign of Charles X.

1832Death of General Lamarque, a heroto workers and students. His funeraldegenerates into riots, described byHugo in Les Misrables.

1848 - 51Regime of Louis Phillipe endswith uprising and Louis Napoleonbecomes president of the SecondRepublic. He dissolves Parliamentand is given full powers for tenyears.

1852Louis Napoleon declares himselfEmperor. Hugo urges the populaceto rise against the monarch and eesthe country to Belgium.

1862Victor Hugo publishes Les Misrables, written in exile.

1870Louis Napoleon is forced to abdicateand is replaced by a democraticallyelected government. Hugo returns toFrance in triumph.

1885Hugo dies. Two million mournerspay their respects at his massivefuneral.

1906The rst silent lm of Les Misrables is directed in France by

Albert Capellini.

CHRONOLOGY

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