The Memoirs of Victor Hugo (Mint Editions (In Their Own Words: Biographical and Autobiographical Narratives)) - Softcover

Hugo, Victor

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1513291351 ISBN 13: 9781513291352

Publisher: Mint Editions, 2021

Synopsis

The Memoirs of Victor Hugo (1899) is an autobiographical work by Victor Hugo. Assembled from diaries and manuscripts left behind by the author following his death in 1895, the Memoirs are as much a record of a life as they are a portrait of nineteenth century France. Told from the perspective of a supremely gifted artist whose command of language is matched only by his commitment to morality, The Memoirs of Victor Hugo is an invaluable text for scholars and fans alike―there is no shortage of interesting details and brilliant reflections within. For a writer of Hugo’s stature, whose poems, plays, novels, and essays earned him a reputation on an international scale as one of the nineteenth century’s premier artists, there is always the chance that the myth will outlast the man, and that the work will fall victim to idolization. For Hugo, despite his immense success both during his life and in the twentieth century as his stories formed the basis for beloved films and musicals, this would very much have been the case if not for his understated Memoirs, which carefully place his life in context of the time in which he lived. Beginning with his youth, which coincided with the coronation of Charles X, Hugo moves through the passages of his memory while stopping to remember the literary heroes, such as Shakespeare, who influenced his vision of the world. As France descends into war and hunger, Hugo is there to guide us through the chaos, to show us the light that waits on the other side, distant but never too far out of reach. His story is the story of France, a personal history interwoven with meditations on faith, politics, and philosophy that remain essential to his legacy as one of France’s greatest literary figures. This edition of Victor Hugo’s The Memoirs of Victor Hugo is a classic work of French literature reimagined for modern readers.

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About this title

About the Author

Victor Hugo (1802-1885) was a French poet and novelist. Born in Besançon, Hugo was the son of a general who served in the Napoleonic army. Raised on the move, Hugo was taken with his family from one outpost to the next, eventually setting with his mother in Paris in 1803. In 1823, he published his first novel, launching a career that would earn him a reputation as a leading figure of French Romanticism. His Gothic novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (1831) was a bestseller throughout Europe, inspiring the French government to restore the legendary cathedral to its former glory. During the reign of King Louis-Philippe, Hugo was elected to the National Assembly of the French Second Republic, where he spoke out against the death penalty and poverty while calling for public education and universal suffrage. Exiled during the rise of Napoleon III, Hugo lived in Guernsey from 1855 to 1870. During this time, he published his literary masterpiece Les Misérables (1862), a historical novel which has been adapted countless times for theater, film, and television. Towards the end of his life, he advocated for republicanism around Europe and across the globe, cementing his reputation as a defender of the people and earning a place at Paris’ Panthéon, where his remains were interred following his death from pneumonia. His final words, written on a note only days before his death, capture the depth of his belief in humanity: “To love is to act.”

From the Back Cover

Both a record of a tumultuous century and a portrait of a life devoted to literature and political freedom, The Memoirs of Victor Hugo is a posthumously assembled work by one of France’s greatest artists. From a childhood on the move, to adulthood in Paris, to exile in Guernsey, Hugo’s life becomes a conduit for immense cultural change.

Edition details

• Publisher: Mint Editions
• Publication date: 2021
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1513291351
• ISBN 13: 9781513291352
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 216