1The person I've chosen to talk about is the French writer Victor Hugo -
2many people have heard of him because his novel, Les Miserables,
3which he wrote in 1862, is famous around the world.
4It became a stage musical in the 1980s,
5and a film version was also released in 2012.
6So, some of us, I'm sure, have a pretty general idea of the plot,
7but we know much less about the author.
8Today, I'm going to provide a little more insight into this talented man
9and I'm going to talk particularly about the home he had on the island of Guernsey in the British Channel Islands.
10But first, his early career...
11as I've said, he was a writer,
12he was at the height of his career in Paris
13and he was very highly regarded by his colleagues.
14As far as literature was concerned,
15he was the leading figure of the Romantic movement.
16However, as well as being a literary genius,
17he also gave many speeches about issues like the level of poverty in his society.
18He felt very strongly about this
19and about other areas where change was needed, like education.
20This kind of outspoken criticism was not well liked by the rulers of France
21and, eventually, the emperor - Napoleon III -
22told Victor Hugo to leave Paris and not return;
23in other words, he sent him into exile.
24So Victor Hugo was forced to reside in other parts of Europe.
25Guernsey was actually his third place of exile
26and he landed there in 1855.
27He produced a lot while on Guernsey - including Les Miserables -
28and to do this, he had to spend a great deal of time in the home that he had there.
29This was a property that he bought using the money he'd made in France
30from the publication of a collection of his poetry.
31It was the only property he ever owned, and he was very proud of it.
32The property Victor Hugo bought on Guernsey was a large, five-storey house in the capital town of St Peter Port
33and he lived there for 15 years,
34returning to France in 1870 when Napoleon's Empire collapsed.
35He decorated and furnished each level, or floor, of the house in unique and wonderful ways,
36and many people consider the inside of the house to be a 'work of art'.
37Today it's a museum that attracts 200,000 visitors a year.
38He lived in the house with his family...
39and portraits of its members still hang in rooms on the ground floor,
40along with drawings that he did during his travels that he felt were important to him.
41In other ground-floor rooms, there are huge tapestries
42that he would've designed and loved.
43The walls are covered in dark wood panelling that Victor Hugo created himself
44using wooden furniture that he bought in the market.
45The items were relatively inexpensive,
46and he used them to create intricate carvings.
47They gave an atmosphere on the lower level that was shadowy and rather solemn.
48On the next level of the house there are two impressive lounges,
49where he entertained his guests.
50One lounge has entirely red furnishings,
51such as sofas and wall coverings, and the other blue.
52There's a strong Chinese influence in these areas
53in things like the wallpaper pattern and the lamps -
54which he would have made himself by copying original versions.
55His library, where he left many of his favourite books,
56forms the hallway to the third floor
57and was a comfortable area where he could relax and enjoy his afternoons.
58And then, at the very top of the house,
59there's a room called the Lookout -
60called that because it looks out over the harbour.
61In contrast to the rather dark lower levels,
62it's full of light and was like a glass office where he would write until lunchtime -
63often at his desk.
64So, Victor Hugo was a man of many talents,
65but he was also true to his values.
66While living in his house on Guernsey,
67he entertained many other famous writers,
68but he also invited a large group of local children from the deprived areas of the island to dinner once a week.
69What's more, he served them their food,
70which was an extraordinary gesture for the time period.
71In 1927, the house was owned by his relatives,
72and they decided to donate it to the city of Paris.
73It has since been restored using photographs from the period
74and, as I mentioned earlier, is now a museum that is open to the public.