French literature

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Music

Beethoven composed this arietta when Victor Hugo was twenty. It was his final work for piano. Like Hugo, Beethoven was an artist of extraordinary vitality who, despite the trials he endured, succeeded in preserving a heart still capable of love—as we hear here.

Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables

How and why did Victor Hugo write Les Misérables? A beautiful video to answer these questions. 11 minutes.

Victor Hugo: A Biography

Victor Hugo, by Bradley Stephens, 2019.

The Essential Victor Hugo (Oxford World’s Classics)

This freely available online book allows you to explore the full range of the writer’s work—both poetry and prose—through a wealth of excerpts!

Victor Hugo: Beyond Les Misérables

An excellent podcast with Bradley Stephens to understand the historical and biographical context of Victor Hugo’s work. 32 minutes.

Victor Hugo’s house in virtual reality

During his exile on Guernsey, Victor Hugo shaped his house according to his wild imagination. It’s well worth the visit!

Victor Hugo in exile on the terrace of Hauteville House, his residence on Guernsey.

The photograph was taken in 1868. At that time, after seventeen years in exile, Hugo had lost hope of ever being able to return to France.