Victor Hugo: Author, Poet, Statesman

On my list of 'things to do' was to pay a visit to the Maison de Victor Hugo. Located in the Marais, on the southeast corner of the historic Place du Vosges, you will find the interesting yet somewhat sparse apartment of this great luminary of the 19th century. Best known to the world as the author of Notre Dame de Paris (The Hunchback of Notre Dame, as it is known in english) and Les Misérables, I was suprised to discover he was also a poet as well as a prolific artist, producing some 4,000 drawings in his lifetime! Born in 1802 to parents of differing mindset-his mother was a Catholic-Royalist, his father was a general in Napoleons army, he ultimately rejected his catholic education and became a champion of Republicanism and Freethought. He was also a humanist, later in life he convinced Queen Victoria to spare the lives of six Irish who were convicted of terrorism and sentenced to death, and influenced the removal of the death penalty from the constitutions of Geneva, Portugal, and Colombia. He served in the Senate and National Assembly, and was a founding member of the Association Littéraire et Artistique Internationale, which led to the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (copyright law). His famous novel Notre Dame de Paris was so popular it shamed city administrators into restoring the famous chapel which had fallen into disrepair, and he was instrumental in saving from destruction the ancient Roman ruins at the Place du Monge, which had been discovered during a redevelopment project taking place in the neighborhood. Over 100 operas were influenced by his work including Verdi's Rigoletto, Donizetti's Lucrezia Borgia, and Ponchielli's La Gioconda. His drawings were admired by Van Gogh and Delacroix, the latter once saying that if he had decided to become a painter he would have outshone the artists of their century. He was not spared his share of tragedy however, his beloved daughter Leopoldine drowned in the river Seine at Villequier at the tender age of 19, being dragged under by the voluminous folds of her skirt. He heard the news while vacationing with his mistress, reading it in a newspaper whilst at a café. He is said to have never recovered, and set his grief to poetry. Highly regarded in his day, on the occasion of his 80th birthday a parade was given in his honour that was the largest and most magnificent parade in the history of France. Laid to rest in the Panthéon, he shares a crypt with luminaries Alexandre Dumas and Emile Zola. You can visit the Maison de Victor Hugo tuesday through sunday from 10am until 6pm free of charge. Closed mondays and holidays. Victor Hugo, Renassaince man!