Fun Facts Friday: Victory Hugo

Victor Hugo (26 February, 1802 – 22 May, 1885) was a French author best known for his novels Les Misérables and The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. Along with novels, Mr. Hugo also wrote essays, poems, plays and was known to be a human rights activist.

Books by Victor Hugo

1. Hugo’s father was a general in Napoleon’s army.
2. His wife, Adele Foucher, was his childhood sweetheart.
3. He wrote a book of poetry, for which Mr. Hugo got many gifts as well as a pension of 3,000 francs from King Louis XVII.
4. The author started planning the novel Les Misérables in the 1830s, it was published in 1862. He went on to earn over half a million francs the next six years from the publication.
5. The book Les Misérables, was the most popular novel among soldiers fighting in the American Civil War.
6. If he got writer’s block, Mr. Hugo used to take all his clothes off, go into an empty room with only pen and paper, and force himself to write.
7. When Napoleon III came to power in 1851, he declared Victor Hugo a traitor. Mr. Hugo lived in exile until 1870.
8. Upon returning to Paris in 1870, Mr. Hugo was elected to the National Assembly.
9. When he died, Mr. Hugo’s coffin was laid under the Arc de Triomphe for an all-night vigil.
10. The funeral procession took six hours to pass.

Zohar – Man of la Book
*Ama­zon links point to an affil­i­ate account, the money is usually spent on books