Victor Hugo

 The novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (1831), and Les Miserables (1962) are his most well-known works. Hugo is well-known in France for his poetry collections, such as Les Contemplations (The Contemplations), and La Legende des siecles ("The Legend of the Ages") Hugo was a prolific writer, and through his plays Cromwell and Hernani, was at the forefront of the Romantic literary movement. A number of his works have inspired music, both during his lifetime and after his death, including the opera Rigoletto and musicals Les Miserables and Notre-Dame de Paris. Hugo produced over the 4,000 drawings he created during his life, and campaigned for social causes like the end of capital punishment. While he was a fervent royalist when young, Hugo's views changed as the decades passed, and he became an enthusiastic supporter of republicanism while serving as both deputy and senator. His writings addressed a variety of the social and political issues as well as the aesthetic trends of the day. His opposition to absolutism and his reputation for literature established him as an icon of the nation. His honor was recognized by his burial at the Pantheon.