Victor Hugo was born in France in 1802. He published his first book of poetry when he was only twenty and later wrote several successful plays and novels, including The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Les Miserables. During the 1840s, Hugo became involved in French politics. When Emperor Napoleon 111 overthrew the government in 1851, Hugo fled France. Although he did not return for almost twenty years, his passion for writing never wavered. Victor Hugo, one of the best Romantic writers of his time, died in France in 1885.