“Be like the bird who, pausing in her flight awhile on boughs too slight, feels them give way beneath her, and yet sings, knowing she hath wings.”

French novelist and playwright of the Romantic era, Victor Hugo is best known for his sweeping historical novels and passionate advocacy for social justice. His works like *Les Misérables* and *The Hunchback of Notre-Dame* explore human suffering and resilience, while his political essays championed abolition and democratic reform.