Victor Hugo
Perhaps one of the most significant French writers, Victor Hugo was born on February 26th, 1802, the youngest of three sons. His father was a general in Napoleon's army, and his mother was a strong-minded, religious woman. Dissatisfied with the constant moves required by army life, Madame Hugo settled with her children in Paris.
Hugo began writing at a young age, and at seventeen years old he won a national poetry prize. He published his first book of poetry in 1822, which provided him the...