HUGO, Victor (1802-1885)

HUGO, Victor (1802-1885)

Autograph letter signed “Victor Hugo” to Eugène Pelletan
Hauteville House, 19th May [1867], 1 page 1/2 in-8
Period fold marks and ink spots

Very nice exile letter about Hernani

“Mon éloquent et cher confrère, je serai charmé et fier de vous avoir à Hernani, vous et votre fils, qui, je le sais, est digne de vous (je ne connais pas de plus belle promesse d’avenir). Vous aurez vos deux stalles par notre ami commun Auguste Vacquerie (23, r. Verneuil), qui veut bien être le tuteur de mon drame un peu orphelin. Absentes quasi mortui. Hernani est un montagnard, et j’en suis un autre. Il est haï littérairement, et moi politiquement. Je me recommande à vous sous les deux espèces. à bientôt. Continuez votre lutte vaillante. Votre parole est glaive pour abattre l’ivraie et soc pour ouvrir le sillon. Je vous applaudis et je vous aime. Ex imo cordi. Victor Hugo”

Hernani is a play by Victor Hugo, first performed at the Comédie-Française on February 25, 1830, and published the same year. This play , among victor Hugo’s most famous, and which performance triggered the Battle of Hernani, enshrined the genre of romantic drama.

Hernani’s revival marked a turning point in the career of Victor Hugo, whose theatre had been censored on all French stages since the establishment of the Second Empire. None of his plays had been represented since Marion de Lorme in June 1852. But in 1867, his relationship with the government seemed to improve. His announced return to the Théâtre-Français is said to have come from a personal request from Empress Eugenie, on the eve of the Exposition Universelle.
The premiere will take place on June 20, 1867, followed by another 70 performances.