New Exhibition Opens at Victor Hugo House of Literature in Bièvres

On March 7, the Victor Hugo House of Literature in Bièvres near Paris opened a new exhibition titled “Victor Hugo and Les Misérables, from reality to ideal.” The opening ceremony was attended by Mayor of Bièvres Anne Pelletier-Le Barbier and local government officials. The exhibition will run until November 30, 2025, and features a printing proof of Les Misérables that has Hugo’s handwritten corrections, one of the national treasures of France, as well as 18 items on loan from the Victor Hugo House in Paris.     

The Victor Hugo House of Literature was founded by President Daisaku Ikeda in 1991 in recognition of the universal and humanistic influence of the ideas of Victor Hugo. Today, it houses a large collection of original editions, manuscripts, old photographs and documents related to Hugo’s life and works and aims to be an international meeting place for cultural exchanges around literature and the arts. The House of Literature is located within the Château des Roches and was originally the property of one of Hugo’s friends and a place Hugo visited frequently. It is currently owned and run by the Soka Cultural Association of France (ACSF).