Hauteville House
Encyclopedia
Hauteville House is a house where Victor Hugo
Victor Hugo
Victor-Marie Hugo was a Frenchpoet, playwright, novelist, essayist, visual artist, statesman, human rights activist and exponent of the Romantic movement in France....
lived during his exile from France, located at 38 Rue Hauteville in St. Peter Port in Guernsey
Guernsey
Guernsey, officially the Bailiwick of Guernsey is a British Crown dependency in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy.The Bailiwick, as a governing entity, embraces not only all 10 parishes on the Island of Guernsey, but also the islands of Herm, Jethou, Burhou, and Lihou and their islet...
. The house was donated to the City of Paris by Hugo's descendants in March, 1927. It currently houses an honorary consul
Consul (representative)
The political title Consul is used for the official representatives of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, and to facilitate trade and friendship between the peoples of the two countries...
to the French embassy at London and a Victor Hugo museum; house and garden are both open to the public.
Built around 1800 by an English privateer, the house belonged to William Ozanne. It gained the reputation of being haunted by the spirit of a woman who had committed suicide, and remained unoccupied for several years. Victor Hugo bought the house on May 16, 1856 with the profit from the initial success of the publication of Les Contemplations. By owning it Hugo could not to be expelled from the island, in accordance with the Guernsey law that prohibits the deporting of people with properties on the island. The house was transformed, furnished and decorated by the writer during his exile from 1856 to 1870, and during a return visit in the summer of 1878.
The house consists of four levels, with the top floor featuring a glazed lookout over the surrounding islands. The garden is filled with trees and flowers growing in abundance due to the mild climate.