“These two beings, who had loved each other so exclusively, and with so touching a love, and who had lived so long for each other, were now suffering beside one another and through one another; without speaking of it, without harsh feeling, and smiling all the while.”

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.