Victor Hugo - Autograph Letter Signed From Hauteville House - Guernsey - Brussels - 1868

A tender letter written from his exile in Guernsey. Beautiful signature.

Autograph letter signed by Victor Hugo (1802–1885) from Hauteville House “to a charming young girl who has become a noble young woman,” Adèle Rivet, residing at 13 rue de Condé in Paris.

Hauteville House [Guernsey], November 30 [1868] – Letter delivered in Paris on December 13, 1868.

One page, with handwritten address, postmark, and stamp intact. Taill15e 13 x 10.3 cm (13 x 20.6 cm when unfolded). Normal mailing creases and microperforations. Magnetic display frame 15 × 21 cm included.

In November 1868, still in exile at his home, Hauteville House, on the island of Guernsey, Victor Hugo was putting the finishing touches on his great novel The Man Who Laughs, which he would complete in December before its publication in 1869. A few months before this letter, on August 27, 1868, his wife Adèle Foucher had died in Brussels. Hugo had to accompany her remains to the French border so that she could be buried in Villequier, Normandy, before returning to Guernsey. Unable to travel to Paris without risking arrest, Hugo had found a strategic refuge on the continent in Brussels. Every year, the poet left his island to stop there, reunite with loved ones and visitors, and manage his literary affairs.

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Hauteville House, November 30 [1868]

The charming young girl has become a noble young woman;

I look forward to seeing you, Madame, on my next visit to Brussels and to paying my respects at your feet.

Victor Hugo

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