The name of Victor Hugo is familiar to everyone since childhood. Author of the famous novels "Cathedral Notre Dame of Paris”, “Les Misérables” and “The Man Who Laughs” was not only a great representative of world literature, but also a symbol of France. It was Victor Hugo who had a huge influence on writers such as Albert Camus, Charles Dickens and Fyodor Dostoyevsky. But behind this fame of the writer, a lot of interesting things were hidden. We suggest you familiarize yourself with the most interesting facts about Victor Hugo and his novels.
The house in which he was born has not survived to this day. But, it is known that there, on the Parisian street Notre Dame de Champs, glassblowers lived, where their workshops were located.
Victor Hugo in his youth
When Notre Dame Cathedral saw the world in 1831, the following was written in the preface from the author: “One of my main goals is to inspire the nation with love for our architecture.”
There is a funny anecdote about what happened to Victor Hugo in Prussia:
- What do you do? the gendarme asked him, filling out a questionnaire.
- I ask, how do you earn money for living?
So let's write down: “Hugo. Feather merchant.
Hugo wrote the novel Les Misérables for many years, and during these years it often happened to him creative crisis. The writer decided to fight this radically: he closed himself in a room where only pen and paper kept him company, and completely undressed so that even clothes would not distract him from writing a novel. even ordered his servants to return his clothes to him only when he managed to write at least something. He began writing the novel Les Misérables in the early 1840s, but work on it was completed only in 1862.
Illustration for the novel "Les Misérables"
Quite possibly the author of the shortest correspondence in the history of the mail. When it came out in 1862 new novel"Les Miserables", the writer was on vacation, but he was still eager to know the reader's reaction to his work. So Hugo sent his publisher an urgent telegram consisting of a single character: "?". That, in turn, was also laconic, sending only: "!".
One of the first editions of the novel "Les Misérables"
Les Misérables became the most popular novel among American soldiers during the civil war in USA. Published in 1862, the book began to appear in the United States in translation into English language even before the end of the year and showed a real sensation, especially among the military.
However, today recognized as a masterpiece, the novel was often criticized in the American press. For example, The New Englander wrote: The entire career of Jean Valjean consists of a series of incredible coincidences strange inconsistencies, and stands in constant antagonism with the principles of truth and honor, which should determine the line of life of everyone an honest man". Even the New York Times, which called the novel "wonderful" and "brilliant," could not resist calling Hugo a "prosaic lunatic"—a kind of mixed review.
Frame from the film "Les Misérables" (2012)
At Victor Hugo I had a special fondness for the feet. He was a real fetishist in this matter. And as it turned out, many other writers had a similar foot urge: Dostoevsky, Goethe, George du Maurier, and F. Scott Fitzgerald were also foot fetishists.
Claimed to have made love to his wife as many as 9 times on their wedding night. Edward Behr, Hugo's researcher, claimed that according to Hugo's hard-to-find diary, Hugo actually managed to do this with his fiancée, Adele. Even if we assume that the writer embellished his exploits a little, for his young wife it was a terrible test. Ber claims that her feelings for her husband after that have never been the same as before. But, despite the complete lack of interest in her husband, Adele bore him five children.
Adele Hugo
He was a true reformer of his time. The writer never grew old and always tried to be at the center of the latest trends in literature, fashion and public life. Even when the writer was already over 70, he constantly visited various events designed more for young people.
He spent the last years of his life in Paris. And even before the writer's death, the street on which the writer's mansion was located was named after him. Therefore, when Hugo answered letters or simply left someone his return address, he always wrote: "Monsieur Victor Hugo on his avenue in Paris."
House of Victor Hugo
died May 22, 1885 from pneumonia, when he was 84 years old. But it is interesting that the writer developed this disease because of the parade in his honor. Hugo was weak and doctors advised him to stay in bed. But the writer was not one of those who can skip the whole action in his honor. So he opened the window wide open to greet his fans from there. The next day he came down with a cold, which later developed into pneumonia.
became the only writer whose funeral procession stopped under the Arc de Triomphe. As a rule, only generals and marshals received such an honor. And the first person with whose gunpowder a funeral procession passed under the arch was Napoleon. funeral ceremony Victor Hugo took place over ten days and was attended by more than a million people. After the funeral, the ashes of the writer were placed in the Pantheon.
Triumphal Arch
For 16 years of his life he lived in the Parisian hotel Roan-Gemin. Now the entrance to his room is free. In this hotel, Hugo worked on his famous novel"Rejected". It was here that he met the writers Lamartine, Alfred de Vigny, Alexandre Dumas, Balzac, Prosper Mérimée and Charles Augustin de Sainte-Beuve. Visitors can see here the writer's manuscripts and drawings, as well as copies of Hugo's first editions. By the way, Milady Winter in the novel by Alexandre Dumas "The Three Musketeers" stayed in these apartments.
A room at the Roan-Gemenet hotel
One of the stations of the Paris metro bears the name Victor Hugo. By the way, it is located on the square that bears the same name. A crater on Mercury was also named in his honor.
In one of the poems, he aptly called himself a "ringing echo." And it really was. His novels have a purpose: moral, historical, social or all at once. The works of Victor Hugo changed the history of France, if not the whole world.
February 26 215th birthday Victor Marie Hugo, French writer, poet, prose writer and playwright.
10 FACTS ABOUT VICTOR HUGO
1. The first works of Hugo were written by him at the age of 14.
2. The play by V. Hugo "Ernani" completely changed the French dramaturgy, causing heated debate between representatives of the old and new art.
3. The first poetry collection "Odes and Miscellaneous Poems" was published in 1822, when Hugo was only 20 years old.
4. "Notre Dame Cathedral" - the first historical novel in French.
5. One of the effects of the appearance of the novel "Notre Dame Cathedral" was the huge crowds of tourists who reached out to the deserted Cathedral of the same name.
6. Name main character In Les Misérables, Cosette became a symbol of France's child martyrs exploited by adults.
7. Hugo believed that Les Misérables could remake the world.
8. The story "The Last Day of the Condemned to Death" had a great influence on Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky.
9. Funeral ceremony famous writer lasted ten days; about a million people took part in it.
10. A crater on Mercury is named after Victor Hugo.
WHAT TO READ
1. Hugo, V. Gavroche / V. Hugo; rice. Y. Trizny; per. from fr. N. Kasatkina. - Leningrad: Children's literature, 1991. - 111 p.: tsv.il.
2. Hugo, V. The man who laughs / V. Hugo; artistic A. A. Mitrofanov; retelling by S. Filippov. - Moscow: White City, 2007. - 46 p. : ill.
3. Hugo, V. M. Cosette / V. M. Hugo; translation from French: N. Kogan, D. Livshits; artist V. Dugin. - Moscow: World of the Seeker, 2012. - 64 p. - (Student Library).
4. Hugo, V. M. Poems. - Moscow: Fiction, 1981. - 376 p. - (Classics and contemporaries)
5. Hugo, V. Notre Dame Cathedral / translated by N. Kogan. - Moscow: E, 2016. - 607 p. - (Pocket book)
ABOUT HIM
1. Antokolsky, P. G. Ways of poets: essays. - Moscow: Soviet writer, 1965. - 470 p.
2. Brahman, S. R. "Les Misérables" by Victor Hugo. - Moscow: Fiction, 1968. - 104 p.
3. Dobin, E. S. History of nine plots: Stories of a literary critic. - Leningrad: Children's literature, 1973. - 175 p.: ill.
4. Kirnoze, Z. I. Pages french classics: Book for students Art. class cf. schools. - Moscow: Education, 1992. - 223 p.
5. Muravyova, N. I. Hugo: biography of an individual. Issue 14. - Moscow: Young Guard, 1961. - 384 p. - (Life wonderful people: a series of biographies).
6. Rabelais. Molière. Voltaire. Hugo. George Sand. Zola: Biographical Narratives. - Chelyabinsk: Ural L.T.D., 1998. - 16 p.: color illustration. - (Life of remarkable people. Biographical library of F. Pavlenkov; vol. 29).
7. Treskunov, M. S. Victor Hugo. - Leningrad: Enlightenment, 1969. - 152 p. - (Library of the vocabulary).
8. Treskunov, M. S. Victor Hugo's novel "The Ninety-Third Year". - Moscow: Fiction, 1981. - 175 p.
Victor Hugo was the most famous French writer, poet and playwright. He made an invaluable contribution to the formation of the era French romanticism, and his creative activity He started when he was very young, at the age of 14. This article will contain interesting information about amazing facts from the life of this writer.
The work "Les Misérables" was created over a long 22 years
When the author wrote the novel, he was often visited by a terrible creative crisis. Hugo tried to fight him by alienating everything worldly, locking himself in his room alone with his only comrades: pen and paper. There he, in complete silence and with full concentration, created a great work.
At the same time, he undressed and gave all his clothes to the servants for safekeeping, so that she would not distract him from creative process. "Les Misérables" was created in torment, but became a truly masterpiece that made a splash during the Civil War and was incredibly popular with American soldiers. However, initially the work was subjected to severe criticism.
Musical and film "Les Misérables"
The work of the author was not in vain. According to the recognized great work "Les Misérables" a musical was staged. Its premiere took place in 1985, in October. The musical turned out to be incredibly long by the standards of that time, but this did not stop him from winning not even one, but several Tony awards.
The work has been translated into 21(!) languages. And already in 2012, our contemporaries made a film based on the musical. The important thing is that each actor sang himself. The film received numerous awards, as did the individual actors who played in it. In film leading role played by Hugh Jackman.
talent for painting
Also in early childhood Hugo began to create beautiful works art. He painted great beautiful sketches pencil or ink, which can be seen on display in a museum dedicated to the writer. Perhaps if Victor devoted his life to painting, he would become the greatest and famous artist of that time, such a fate was prophesied to him by those who saw his drawings.
Hotel Roan-Gemenet
You can get acquainted with the life of the writer, consider his sketches and early manuscripts in a hotel in France, where Hugo lived for sixteen years of his long life. It was in the room of this hotel that the most famous and greatest work"Les Misérables", where on this moment there is a museum dedicated to Victor Hugo.
Hugo's weird fetish
Surprisingly, the writer had a predilection for legs. Victor Hugo was a foot fetishist. This means that it was their feet that attracted him most in women. This strange addiction was shared with him by many poets, writers and artists, such as Fitzgerald, Goethe, and even the Russian writer Dostoevsky.
The writer's marriage
The incredibly beautiful Adele Fouche became the chosen one of the great author. She was a childhood friend of Victor Hugo. The wedding was in 1822, in October. According to the writer himself, their wedding night was incredibly stormy, which frightened and shocked poor girl. Adele's feelings for her husband changed dramatically after that, she cooled off towards him, but later she still gave birth to five children to the man.
Offspring of Victor Hugo
Despite the absence mutual love in the family of the writer, his wife bore him five children: Leopold (unfortunately, the boy died in infancy), Leopoldina, Karl, Francois-Victor and Adele. The children suffered an unfortunate fate. Leopoldina died at the age of 19, and her younger sister went mad with terrible grief.
Writer's true love
Due to a joyless marriage and the fact that his wife was not faithful to him, the author had many mistresses, but true feelings only Juliette Drouet could awaken in his soul. Their romance continued until the woman's death, incredibly for a long time. She did not become Hugo's wife, he did not want to divorce Adele at all.
Hugo, even in old age, did not lag behind fashion
The writer until his old age followed everything fashion trends in clothing and literature. He attended various events, the contingent of which was very young people. You can even call him a reformer.
Death from pneumonia
Victor Hugo lived a long and, one might say, happy life. He had talent, fame, money, a beloved woman and children. genius writer died at the age 84 years old from pneumonia. The disease developed as a result of the fact that Hugo, being with a cold, opened the windows to watch the parade in his honor and greet the fans. He simply could not miss such an opportunity, for which he paid. The cold developed into pneumonia and on May 22, 1885, Victor Hugo died.
Funeral of Victor Hugo
The incredibly significant fact is that funeral procession passed under the Arc de Triomphe. Previously, only the most important generals were awarded such an honor. The ceremony itself took place for about ten days, and a huge number of people could take part in it.
In honor of Victor Hugo, a square in the very center of France was named, as well as a subway directly below it. Previously, there was a monument to the writer on the square, but, to the deepest regret, it was destroyed by the fascist administration and melted down for various agricultural and other needs. Surprisingly, the name Hugo also bears a crater located on the distant planet Mercury.
Hugo's works really changed the history of literature in France, it is this author who is one of the symbols of this country, and his name is known, remembered and revered all over the world.
The early-born passion and eloquence of the first works brought Hugo success and fame back in early years life. His first collection of poetry, Odes et posies diverses, was published in 1822, when Hugo was only 20 years old. King Louis XVIII granted an annual allowance for the writer. Hugo's poetry was admired for its spontaneous fervor and fluency. This collection of works was followed by a collection of "Odes and ballads" (Odes et Ballades), written in 1826, four years after the first triumph. It presented Hugo as a great poet, a true master of lyrics and song.
Victor Hugo's first mature work in the genre fiction, "The Last Day of the Condemned to Death" (Le Dernier jour d'un condamn), was written in 1829 and reflected a sharp social consciousness writer, which continued in his subsequent works. The story had a great influence on writers such as Albert Camus, Charles Dickens and F. M. Dostoevsky. Claude Gueux, a short documentary story about a real-life murderer who was executed in France, was published in 1834 and was subsequently regarded by Hugo himself as a precursor to his excellent work on social injustice- epic novel "Les Misérables" (Les Miserables). But Hugo's first full novel would be the wildly successful Notre-Dame de Paris, published in 1831 and quickly translated into many languages across Europe. One of the effects of the novel's appearance was the subsequent attraction of attention to the desolate Notre Dame Cathedral, which began to attract thousands of tourists who read the popular novel. The book also contributed to a renewed respect for the old buildings, which immediately thereafter began to be actively preserved.
"The Man Who Laughs"
"The Man Who Laughs"(fr. L "Homme qui rit) - one of the most famous novels Victor Hugo, written in the 60s years XIX century. The starting point in the plot of the novel is January 29, 1690, when a child is abandoned in Portland under mysterious circumstances.
Hugo began work on the novel in July 1866 in Brussels. In a letter to the Parisian publisher Lacroix, Victor Hugo proposes the title of the work "By Order of the King", but later, on the advice of friends, settles on the final title "The Man Who Laughs".
The novel was completed on August 23, 1868, and on April 19 - May 8, 1869 was published by Lacroix. The story takes place from 1688 to 1705. Before writing, Hugo spent several months collecting materials on the history of England with late XVII before early XVIII century.
Last years
Victor Hugo died on May 22, 1885, at the age of 84, from pneumonia. The funeral ceremony of the famous writer lasted ten days; about a million people took part in it. On June 1, the coffin with the body of V. Hugo was exhibited for two days under triumphal arch, which was covered with black crepe. After a magnificent national funeral, the ashes of the writer were placed in the Pantheon.
Hugo's sayings
- "Religion marches along with all sorts of superstitions."
- "Music expresses that which cannot be said, but about which it is impossible to remain silent."
- "Time is blind and man is ignorant"
- "Every civilization begins with a theocracy and ends with a democracy."
- “He was deaf and blind at the same time. This is the condition necessary to be an exemplary judge!
- "Of all the ascents that lead from darkness to light, the noblest and most difficult is to be born a royalist and aristocrat and become a democrat."
- “The future belongs to two types of people - a man of thought and a man of work,” said Hugo. - In essence, both of them are one whole: for to think is to work.
- Some obscure poet turned to the Belgian king with a request for pardon for nine criminals sentenced to death penalty in the city of Charleroi. He signed his poems with the name of Victor Hugo. "When it comes to salvation human lives, then let them use my name, ”wrote Hugo in his appeal to the Belgian people. The case was reviewed, and the execution of seven criminals was replaced by hard labor.
- Dostoevsky highly valued Hugo's novel. In one of his letters, he states: "Contrary to the opinion of all our experts, Les Misérables are superior to Crime and Punishment." At the same time, Dostoevsky remarks: “But my love for Miserables does not prevent me from seeing them. major flaws. The figure of Valjean is charming and there are an awful lot of the most characteristic and excellent places ... But on the other hand, how ridiculous are his lovers, what bourgeois French they are in the meanest sense!
Victor Marie Hugo is one of the world's most widely read French prose writers, poets and playwrights. In addition, he is one of the main figures of French romanticism. It was he who had an invaluable influence on such world famous writers as Albert Camus, Charles Dickens and Fyodor Dostoevsky.
In current directories book club you can purchase two editions of Victor Hugo's works at a discount. This is the epic novel "Les Misérables" and a collection of three great works of the author under one cover, which includes "Notre Dame Cathedral" - a magnificent novel about all-conquering love, "The Man Who Laughs" - a story about pain and mercy, "Gavroche" - a story about the love of life of a reckless boy.
We suggest you familiarize yourself with the most interesting facts about the writer. You'll find out why he stripped naked while writing the novel, what his other talent was besides writing, and what address he asked for letters to be sent to him. Fascinating reading!
1. When Victor Hugo was a child, his family traveled a lot. The childhood of the future writer took place in Marseille, Corsica, Elba (1803-1805), in Italy (1807), in Madrid (1811), where his father worked, and from where the family returned to Paris every time. Travel left a deep impression in the soul of the future poet and prepared his romantic outlook.
2. When Hugo wrote Les Misérables, he was often visited by a serious creative crisis. Hugo tried to fight him by alienating himself from everything worldly, locking himself in his room alone with his only comrades: pen and paper. There he, in complete silence and full concentration, created a great work. At the same time, he undressed and gave all his clothes to the servants so that she would not distract him from the creative process.
3. Hugo and his wife Adele Fouche had five children. Four of them died at a young age.
4. Hugo was also talented artist. He started drawing at the age of 8. Now private collectors and museums have about 4,000 works by the writer, they are still a success and are sold at auctions. Delacroix said to Hugo: "If you became an artist, you would outshine all the painters of our time"
5. Victor Hugo in 1862, while on vacation, wanted to know about the reaction of readers to the newly published novel Les Misérables and sent his publisher a telegram of one character "?". He sent a telegram in response, also from the same character - "!". It was probably the shortest correspondence in history.
6. Exists funny story about what happened to Victor Hugo in Prussia:
- What do you do? the gendarme asked him, filling out a questionnaire.
- I ask, how do you earn money for living?
So let's write down: “Hugo. Feather merchant.
7. Hugo was a real reformer of his time. The writer never grew old and always tried to be at the center of the latest trends in literature, fashion and social life. Even when the writer was already over 70, he constantly attended various events intended more for young people.
8. Own last years The writer Victor Hugo lived in a mansion on a Parisian street, which during his lifetime was called Avenue Victor Hugo. As a return address on the letters, the writer simply indicated: "Monsieur Victor Hugo on his avenue in Paris."
9. Some unknown poet turned to the Belgian king with a request for pardon for nine criminals sentenced to death in the city of Charleroi. He signed his poems with the name of Victor Hugo. “When it comes to saving human lives, then let them use my name,” Hugo wrote in his appeal to the Belgian people. The case was reviewed, and the execution of seven criminals was replaced by hard labor.
10. Victor Hugo died on May 22, 1885, at the age of 84, from pneumonia. The funeral ceremony of the famous writer lasted ten days; about a million people took part in it.
