Victor Hugo starts writing Les Misérables

Reign of King Louis Philippe ends with uprising and Louis Napoleon becomes President of the Second French Republic

Louis Napoleon dissolves Parliament, is proclaimed President with full powers for ten years, ratified by a plebiscite. Victor Hugo leaves hastily for Brussels

Louis Napoleon proclaims himself Emperor as Napoleon III. Victor Hugo settles first in Jersey then in Guernsey

Emperor Napoleon III establishes cordial relations with Britain. Hugo vows not to set foot on French soil till his removal

Victor Hugo publishes poetry, Les Chaîtiments to great acclaim

Publication of more poetry, Les Contemplations

Victor Hugo completes Les Misérables

Les Misérables published in Paris and Brussels

Adéle Hugo dies

Franco-Prussian war ends with disastrous battle of Sedan. Napoleon III flees France and settles in England. October – Victor Hugo returns to Paris, is elected a member of parliament by the Parisiens.

Victor Hugo resigns from Parliament; following the death of his son, Charles, he goes to Brussels to settle the family inheritance

Paris ‘Commune’ uprising, soon crushed, leads to appalling carnage and repression

August – From Brussels, Hugo protests against the Belgian Government’s refusal to give fleeing ‘Communards’ status of political exiles. His Brussels home is stoned and he is declared persona non grata in Belgium, moving to Luxembourg, returning briefly to Paris, then to Guernsey to write Quatre-Vingt-Treize

Victor Hugo settles permanently in Paris and is appointed Senator

Death of Juliette Drouet

Victor Hugo dies

1 June – State funeral attended by over three million people