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Victor
Hugo at his work. Photgravure by Goupil et Cie.
From
drawing by A. Marie
1822
ODES AND VARIOUS
POEMS. Early poetry.
1823
HAN OF ICELAND. Historical romance. Hugo's earliest romance
fiction.
1826
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.
1827
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.
1829
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
themes.
1830
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.
1831
THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME. The art of the novel is never the
same after this bold, groundbreaking effort. The book results
in the
restoration of the cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris.
AUTUMN LEAVES. Intimate poetry.
1832
THE KING TAKES
HIS AMUSEMENT.
A play about womanizing King Francis I and his noble jester.
Banned by the authorities. Guiseppe Verdi
uses the plot for his opera, RIGOLETTO.
1833
LUCRECE BORGIA
and MARIA TUDOR.
Hugo writes these two dramas for the actress Juliette Drouet.
1834
LITERATURE AND
PHILOSOPHY MINGLED.
Essays.
CLAUDE GUEUX. Another novel denouncing the
death penalty.
1835
SONGS AT DAYBREAK. Political poetry. Increasingly,
Hugo involves himself in partisan disputes.
ANGELO. A drama of passion and revenge
in the sixteenth century.
1837
INNER VOICES. Vivid verse.
1838
RUY BLAS. A play about a princess loved
by a poor poet. A barely-veiled cry for political reform.
1840
SUNBEAMS AND
SHADOWS. Ambitious
poetry on religion, social problems, politics and philosophy.
1842
THE RHINE. A travel book.
1843
THE BURGRAVES. A melodrama set in medieval Germany. It flops
big time.
1848
THE EVENT. A newspaper begun by Hugo to advance his political
views. Within three years, he is forced into exile.
1852
NAPOLEON THE
LITTLE. Satirical
comparison between Napoleon III (Hugo's political nemesis) and
Napoleon I.
1853
PUNISHMENTS. Political satire in poetic form.
Here, Hugo completely abandons classical patterns and discovers
a freer, fully-formed poetic voice.
1856
CONTEMPLATIONS. Poignant poetry inspired by the
death of Hugo's daughter Leopoldine.
1859
THE LEGEND OF
THE CENTURIES.
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.
1862
LES
MISERABLES.
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.
1864
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE. A celebration of poetic imagination
and human genius.
1865
SONGS OF LANE
AND WOOD. Light,
lyric, pastoral poetry.
1866
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.
1869
THE LAUGHING
MAN. An anti-feudalism
novel set in 17th-century England. The hero's deformed face is
twisted into a permanent smile.
1872
THE TERRIBLE
YEAR. An account
of the siege of Paris and the rise of the Commune during the
Franco-Prussian War of 1870.
1873
"1793." A novel on the French Revolution.
1875
BEFORE EXILE
and DURING EXILE.
Collections of Hugo's political speeches and essays.
1876
SINCE EXILE. More political material.
1877
THE ART OF BEING
A GRANDFATHER.
Light verse inspired by grandchildren Georges and Jeanne.
THE LEGEND OF THE CENTURIES,
SECOND SERIES.
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.
1878
Victor Hugo suffers a stroke. Although no longer writing, he
continues publishing previously written manuscripts.
1879
THE SUPREME
PITY. A long poem
arguing that a criminal deserves pity because his first victim
is himself.
1880
THE ASS. A donkey narrates this poem about
human thought.
RELIGION AND RELIGIONS. A poetic attack on materialism
and established sects.
1881
THE FOUR WINDS
OF THE SPIRIT.
Dramatic, epic, lyric and satiric poetry.
1882
TORQUEMADA. A scathing play about Spain's
inquisitor general.
1883
THE LEGEND OF
THE CENTURIES.
Once again, Hugo uses verse to muse on metaphysics and mankind.
1885
Victor Hugo dies. An enormous backlog of work remains, to be
published posthumously.
1886
THE END OF SATAN. An epic poem of heaven and earth,
light and shadow.
FREE PLAYS. Dramatic work from 1854 onward.
1888
THE WHOLE LYRE, part one. More poetry.
1891
GOD. Another theological poem. Hugo
summarizes his own religion in one word -- Love.
1893
THE WHOLE LYRE, part two. Even more poetry.
1898
THE FATAL YEARS. Poetical politics.
1902
LAST GLEANINGS. Bits and pieces of poetry stitched
together by Hugo's literary executor.
1942
OCEAN and HEAP OF STONES. Fragments collected from all
stages of Hugo's career.
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