[Pg i]

VICTOR HUGO

HIS LIFE AND WORK

BY G. BARNETT SMITH,

AUTHOR OF
'SHELLEY: A CRITICAL BIOGRAPHY,' 'POETS AND NOVELISTS,'
ETC.

WITH A PORTRAIT OF VICTOR HUGO.

LONDON:
WARD AND DOWNEY,
12, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN.
1885.

[All Rights Reserved.]

[Pg iii]

I INSCRIBE THIS VOLUME

TO

ALGERNON CHARLES SWINBURNE,

REJOICING THUS TO CONNECT

THE

GREAT BARD AND PROPHET OF FRANCE

WITH THE ENGLISH

SINGER OF A YOUNGER DAY,

WHO HAS DRUNK DEEPLY

OF

THE MASTER'S SPIRIT.

G. B. S.

[Pg v]

PRELIMINARY NOTE.

I began this study of Victor Hugo in December last, and arrangementswere made for its early publication. The great poet has now passed away,and this melancholy event gives the biographical portion of the presentvolume a completeness not originally anticipated. Notwithstanding themultitude of criticisms which have appeared in our own and otherlanguages upon Hugo's works, this is the only book which relates thefull story of his life, and now traces to its close his literary career.More than twenty years have elapsed since the publication of MadameHugo's memorials of the earlier portion of the poet's history, and sincethat time M. Barbou's work (excellently translated by Miss Frewer) isthe only narrative of a biographical character which has appeared. Thewritings of various French and English critics, the two works I havenamed, and those valuable chroniclers, the journals of London and Paris,have been of considerable service to me in the preparation of thebiography now offered to the public.

The writings of Victor Hugo are so varied and multifarious, and many ofthem are so well known to English[Pg vi] readers, that I have not deemed itnecessary to subject them to a detailed analysis. At the same time, thereader unfamiliar with these powerful works will, I trust, be able togather something of their purport and scope from the ensuing pages. Asthey have impressed all minds, moreover, by their striking originality,I thought that it would not be without its value if, while venturing torecord my own impressions, I gave at the same time a representation ofcritical contemporary opinion upon them. Finally, it has been my objectto present to the reader, within reasonable compass, a complete surveyof the life and work of the most celebrated Frenchman of the nineteenth century.

G. Barnett Smith.

Highgate, London, N.,
 June 3rd, 1885.

[Pg vii]

CONTENTS.