Hugo at his work. Photgravure by Goupil et Cie.
drawing by A. Marie
ODES AND VARIOUS
POEMS. Early poetry.
HAN OF ICELAND. Historical romance. Hugo's earliest romance
BUG-JARGAL. A forgotten novel about a slave
revolt in Santo Domingo. Hugo wrote the first edition when he
was 16 years old.
ODES AND BALLADS. A timeless poem.
CROMWELL. This verse play is too lengthy
to stage. Its preface, however, makes Hugo famous. In it, he
argues for a romantic rebirth of drama.
MARION de LORME. Outraged censors ban this shocking
drama. The lead character is a loose woman. The role of King
Louis XIII is deemed
crude and offensive.
THE LAST DAY OF A CONDEMNED
MAN. A novel protesting
the death penalty. Hugo's first "mature" novel.
ORIENTAL POEMS. Echoes the era's popular romantic
HERNANI. The literary establishment is scandalized by
this play's unabashed romanticism. The opening night audience
splits between ardent fans
and violent detractors. Fistfights break out. But when the dust
settles, Hugo's romantic ideas dominate French theater.
THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME. The art of the novel is never the
same after this bold, groundbreaking effort. The book results
restoration of the cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris.
AUTUMN LEAVES. Intimate poetry.
THE KING TAKES
A play about womanizing King Francis I and his noble jester.
Banned by the authorities. Guiseppe Verdi
uses the plot for his opera, RIGOLETTO.
and MARIA TUDOR.
Hugo writes these two dramas for the actress Juliette Drouet.
CLAUDE GUEUX. Another novel denouncing the
SONGS AT DAYBREAK. Political poetry. Increasingly,
Hugo involves himself in partisan disputes.
ANGELO. A drama of passion and revenge
in the sixteenth century.
INNER VOICES. Vivid verse.
RUY BLAS. A play about a princess loved
by a poor poet. A barely-veiled cry for political reform.
poetry on religion, social problems, politics and philosophy.
THE RHINE. A travel book.
THE BURGRAVES. A melodrama set in medieval Germany. It flops
THE EVENT. A newspaper begun by Hugo to advance his political
views. Within three years, he is forced into exile.
comparison between Napoleon III (Hugo's political nemesis) and
PUNISHMENTS. Political satire in poetic form.
Here, Hugo completely abandons classical patterns and discovers
a freer, fully-formed poetic voice.
CONTEMPLATIONS. Poignant poetry inspired by the
death of Hugo's daughter Leopoldine.
THE LEGEND OF
In verse, Hugo develops a complex vision of a universe shaped
by man's imperfection. He will wrestle with
this theme throughout the rest of his life.
A smashing international success. A huge novel, plotted like
a detective story, with unforgettable depictions of life in Paris.
Ultimately, it details man's search for true justice.
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE. A celebration of poetic imagination
and human genius.
SONGS OF LANE
AND WOOD. Light,
lyric, pastoral poetry.
TOILERS OF THE SEA. A novel dedicated to the sailors of
Guernsey, the island where Hugo endures much of his nineteen-year
exile from France.
MAN. An anti-feudalism
novel set in 17th-century England. The hero's deformed face is
twisted into a permanent smile.
YEAR. An account
of the siege of Paris and the rise of the Commune during the
Franco-Prussian War of 1870.
"1793." A novel on the French Revolution.
and DURING EXILE.
Collections of Hugo's political speeches and essays.
SINCE EXILE. More political material.
THE ART OF BEING
Light verse inspired by grandchildren Georges and Jeanne.
THE LEGEND OF THE CENTURIES,
More phantasmagoric poetry exploring the secrets of creation.
STORY OF A CRIME. Written in exile, this recounts
the coup that put Napoleon III on the throne of France.
Victor Hugo suffers a stroke. Although no longer writing, he
continues publishing previously written manuscripts.
PITY. A long poem
arguing that a criminal deserves pity because his first victim
THE ASS. A donkey narrates this poem about
RELIGION AND RELIGIONS. A poetic attack on materialism
and established sects.
THE FOUR WINDS
OF THE SPIRIT.
Dramatic, epic, lyric and satiric poetry.
TORQUEMADA. A scathing play about Spain's
THE LEGEND OF
Once again, Hugo uses verse to muse on metaphysics and mankind.
Victor Hugo dies. An enormous backlog of work remains, to be
THE END OF SATAN. An epic poem of heaven and earth,
light and shadow.
FREE PLAYS. Dramatic work from 1854 onward.
THE WHOLE LYRE, part one. More poetry.
GOD. Another theological poem. Hugo
summarizes his own religion in one word -- Love.
THE WHOLE LYRE, part two. Even more poetry.
THE FATAL YEARS. Poetical politics.
LAST GLEANINGS. Bits and pieces of poetry stitched
together by Hugo's literary executor.
OCEAN and HEAP OF STONES. Fragments collected from all
stages of Hugo's career.