Victor Hugo: A Biography

The book arrived a few days before the expected date. It was packaged well and the book arrived in good condition. The above average description was accurate.

Excellent.

Completely satisfied

Graham Robb is one of that rare breed of scholars, who write what they want to, unfettered by institutional constraints, and write to an intelligent, literate audience that genuinely wants to learn. Much of Victor's Hugo's work is inaccessable to the English language audience. Robb's presentation and interpretation of many different aspects of his literary career show how much he enjoyed the Hugo's work, and his enthusiasm excited this reader. He did a masterful job of integrating history, the stange personal life of Hugo, and his massive literary output. This will become a classic source of information about Victor Hugo.

Great book full of useful biographical information. Was wonderful for my senior thesis on Victor Hugo. Would absolutely recommend it if you're writing a similar paper/thesis/book or are simply interested in Victor Hugo. Loved it.

This is the most enjoyable biography I've ever read, portraying someone who truly was larger than life. It's as complex, entertaining, and riveting as the man himself. Bravo! Now, how can we get Hugo's complete works translated into English?

I couldn't disagree more with the reviewer who feels Robb patronizes Hugo. To me, Robb is relentlessly, tiresomely positive about a deeply, deeply flawed man. Every single transgression or potential embarrassment is breezily explained away in terms universally positive for Hugo. Plagiarized his brother? No problem! Hugo was experimenting with citation. Ruined the lives of countless maids he slept with (many of whom were certainly victims of sexual harassment at best and rape at worst)? No problem! He was giving expression to a pervasive curiosity. And so on. Robb is certainly a gifted writer, but he really does tie himself into pretzels in order to excuse Hugo of everything. In addition, Robb is unbelievably crude about prior biographies and he never passes up the opportunity to judge prior work on Hugo. Whatever their merit of his critiques, Robb's snarky, superior tone grew unpleasant in a hurry. Still, Robb's talents as a writer kept me reading through the end.

Extremely well done biography.

Good condition

Good read