. . . . "Victor Hugo"@en . "Victor Hugo" . . . . "Criticism, interpretation, etc"@en . "Criticism, interpretation, etc" . . "One of the most renowned figures in French literature, Victor Hugo (1802-1885) is also the most widely read French novelist in the English-speaking world, owing to the continuing popularity of his two most important novels, Notre-Dame de Paris (1831) and Les Miserables (1862). Despite this prestige, however, Hugo has often been unfairly maligned by some academic critics who have demeaned his accomplishments as both a poet and novelist by calling him a mere popularizer with a fertile imagination. These critics have argued that Hugo's greatness resides not in the production of refined and well-crafted works but in his energy, genius for self-promotion, patriotism, political courage, versatility in different genres, and massive output." . . . . . . . .