Arrival in Jersey
At the start of his Anglo-Norman exile, Victor Hugo spent a few years (from 1852 to 1855) on the island of Jersey. Some traces of his stay remain to this day. Fans of this great writer can make a pilgrimage to TheExiles' Rock (Le Dicq). Victor Hugo used to meet and converse here with friends who had also been exiled by Napoleon III. You reach it via Saint Clement's Road (don't forget to stop off in pretty Howard Davis Park) and down the ramp to the beach. This is where you'll find the famous rock with the plaque on it. To complete this commemorative walk, we follow Grève d'Azette eastwards. 400 metres further on, on the seaward side to the right, just before the Green Road junction, Victor Hugo's house, which he had christened Marine Terrace, has been demolished. He lived there for a few years with his family, after a short stay at the Pomme d'Or, a (still) famous hotel in the capital Saint-Hélier. It was in Jersey in 1853 that Victor Hugo wrote Les Châtiments, his famous collection of satirical poems critical of Napoleon III and the Second Empire. His stay on the island lasted three years, since in 1855, at the request of the English government, the writer was expelled from Jersey. In an article, he had criticized Queen Victoria for what he saw as her complicity in the Second Empire, after planning an official visit to meet Napoleon III. On October 31, 1855, Victor Hugo set sail for the neighboring island of Guernsey. His third land of exile.
Guernsey and Hauteville House
In Guernsey, Victor Hugo lived in Saint-Peter-Port. After spending some time in a hotel, he moved to Hauteville Street. First at number 20, a house he later bought and decorated with Juliette Drouet, then in the famous Hauteville House. Arriving in Guernsey almost penniless, in 1856, he pulled from his trunks and furniture almost 11,000 verses written since 1830, still unpublished, Les Contemplations. The second volume includes in particular his writings from Jersey and Guernsey. Thanks to the immense success of his collection of poems, Hugo became a homeowner for the first time in his life on May 16, 1856, when he purchased Hauteville House. It was to be his home for almost 15 years, until the end of his Anglo-Norman exile. The house was entirely furnished and decorated by the poet himself. The decor is based on contrast and organized abundance. With a passion for second-hand goods and an overflowing imagination, he decorated Hauteville House with Delft earthenware, chinoiserie, antique chests, mirrors, tapestries, oriental embroidery... A must-see when visiting the island.
Initially gathered at Hauteville House, Hugo's family gradually moved away from Guernsey. His children were usually in Brussels, where the family met regularly, and Adèle Foucher made regular trips to Belgium and Paris to look after her husband's professional interests. It was in the Belgian capital that Adèle died on August 27, 1868. Victor Hugo, who returned to the continent from time to time, accompanied his wife's coffin to the French border, which he was still unable to cross. In the end, only the writer's discreet and faithful companion, Juliette Drouet, remained by his side throughout his stay in Guernsey.
But the end of the exile was near. Napoleon III went from disaster to failure, and was increasingly challenged. From the Channel Island, Victor Hugo encouraged revolt and returned to active politics, taking part in the Peace Congress held in Switzerland. The 1870 war brought the regime to an end. On September 3, the Emperor surrendered, on September 4, the Republic was proclaimed, and on September 5, Victor Hugo (already in Brussels) returned to Paris after 19 years of exile. As much as Hugo loved Guernsey, he constantly dreamed of "la France riante et blonde". But he was faithful to the pledge he had made almost many years earlier: "When freedom returns, I will return".
So it was on the Channel Island that the writer came into his own. In Guernsey, he wrote or completed Les Contemplations, Les Châtiments, La Légende des siècles, Les Chansons des rues et des bois, Les Misérables, Les Travailleurs de la mer... The Channel Islands were thus the breeding ground for his greatest works, and although they were unable to keep this fierce patriot, they still faithfully nurture his memory.
The Workers of the Sea Theater
It was in his book Les Travailleurs de la mer that Victor Hugo would paint the most wonderful picture of Guernsey and the surrounding islands. André Maurois read everything that could be written about Victor Hugo (books, letters, notebooks, articles) and met many of those who held, in one capacity or another, documents on "the greatest French poet". In Olimpio (Hachette, 1954), he writes of Les Travailleurs de la mer: "Victor Hugo made use of the intimate knowledge he had acquired through his life in the archipelago... Guernsey customs, local folklore, 'visioned' houses, the strange French of the Anglo-Normans, gave the novel a piquant and fresh character. "
During his wanderings around Guernsey and neighboring islands such as Sark, Victor Hugo had also observed storms, waves, sailors and other cave explorers. He used these observations to create the character of Gilliatt. Near Torteval, on Mont Hérault, an old lookout house is said to evoke the haunted house in the novel. But there are several other places that could have served as models, such as another lookout house in Cobo Bay. On Sark, in Saignée Bay, the reefs of Les Autelets are also said to have inspired Victor Hugo's description of the shipwreck of La Durande, as are the many smugglers' caves, such as on the west side of the island, near Pilcher Monument, where we discover the sea cave that bears the poet's name: Victor Hugo's Cave. This novel is therefore naturally dedicated to Guernsey and its inhabitants: "I dedicate this book to the rock of hospitality and freedom, to this corner of old Norman land where the noble little people of the sea live, to the island of Guernsey, severe and gentle, my present asylum, my probable tomb."
