Victor Hugo

 The most well-known of his works are the novels The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (1831) and Les Miserables (1862). In France, Hugo is renowned for his poetry collections, including Les Contemplations (The Contemplations) and La Legende des siecles (The Legend of the Ages). Hugo was a prolific writer, and with his stage plays Cromwell and Hernani was at the forefront of the Romantic literary movement. Many of his work inspired music both during his lifetime and after his death, such as the opera Rigoletto and the musicals Les Miserables and Notre-Dame de Paris. Hugo created more than the 4,000 drawings he created during his life and was a vocal advocate for social causes, such as the end of capital punishment. While he was a fervent royalist at a young age, Hugo's views changed as the decades came and he became a passionate supporter of republicanism and served in the political arena as both deputy and senator. His writings dealt with a wide range of the political and social issues as well as the artistic trends of his day. His opposition to absoluteism and his reputation for literature made him an icon of the nation. His honor was recognized by his burial at the Pantheon.