30 Fast Facts About Victor Hugo

If you’ve watched the movie, or read the book Les Misérables, then why not check out the top interesting facts about author, Victor Hugo.

1. His full name was Victor Marie Hugo.
2. He was born on 26th February 1802, in Besançon, France.
3. He died on 22nd May 1885, in Paris, France.
4. He had two brothers – Abel and Eugene.
5. His father was a Napoleonic general.
6. His parents separated when he was sixteen.
7. For his book of poetry verses, Hugo was granted multiple gifts and a 3000 franc pension from King Louis XVIII.
8. In 1822, Hugo married his childhood sweetheart, Adele Foucher.
9. The couple had many children: Léopold who died in infancy (1823), Léopoldine (1824), Charles (1826), François-Victor (1828), and Adele (1830).
10. His first novel Han d’Islande was published in 1823.
11. His first full length novel was published in 1831, entitled Notre-Dame de Paris. In English, this is known as The Hunchback of Notre-Dame.
12. The Hunchback of Notre-Dame was released in 1996 as an animated Disney feature film.
13. Hugo began planning his most famous work Les Misérables in the 1830’s. It was finally published in 1862.
14. Les Misérables gave his publisher over half a million francs over six years.
15. The book has five segments: Fantine, Cosette, Marius, The Idyll in the Rue Plumet and the Epic in the Rue St. Denis, and finally, Jean Valjean.
16. It is considered to be one of the longest novels in history.
17. In 1851, Hugo decided to live in exile following Napoleon III’s coup d’état.
18. In 1881, Hugo was recognized by a group of Belgians who broke his windows and doors, shouting “Down with Victor Hugo, Down with Jean Valjean!”
19. In 1878, he suffered from a minor stroke.
20. The entire population of France celebrated his eightieth birthday.
21. When he approached his deathbed, he asked for a pauper’s funeral.
22. When Hugo died, his coffin was laid under the Arc de Triomphe for an all-night vigil. The funeral procession took six hours to pass.
23. Hugo identified himself as a Catholic and held a great amount of respect for the church.
24. Hugo was a supporter of Romanticism and Republicanism.
25. The original musical of Les Misérables opened at the Barbican Center in London on 8th October, 1985.
26. It is the longest running musical on West End.
27. The emblem is the young Cosette, which is based upon the Emile Bayard novel illustration.
28. The show has won multiple Tony Awards, including ‘Best Book of a Musical’.

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