The sheer volume of his output was staggering. According to Raser: "Not simply was Hugo an observer of and participant in his times, he was also one of the most prolific writers in history, but, unlike many other prolific writers, his works are both varied and important." Not least among his achievements, his collection of poems,
Les Contemplations, represents the acme of the genre, while the novel
Les Misérables is widely recognized as a brilliant novel whose popularity has increased exponentially, more than one century after the author's death, with the immensely successful theatrical production of
Les Mis. A Military Upbringing
Born in Nancy, France, in 1773, Joseph-Léopold Sigisbert Hugo left school at the age of fifteen to enlist in the army. Soon, the son of a master carpenter found himself embroiled in the Convention, a revolutionary government. After taking part in a military action to suppress a counter-revolutionary uprising in the province of Brittany, he quickly moved up the ranks to the position of captain. On his twenty-third birthday, Hugo, who had attained the rank of Adjutant-Major, married Sophie Trébuchet, the daughter of a sea captain.
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