Victor Hugo is a name both familiar and unfamiliar to the Russian reader. The author of bestsellers known all over the world, based on which popular musicals are staged and films are made, and poems that are known only in France. A classic of world literature, one of the most prominent figures of the 19th century, Hugo lived a long life filled with incredible transformations. From a favorite of the royal court, he became a political criminal and exile. From an inveterate Parisian to a resident of a small island. His biography in itself is the plot for a fascinating novel.