Victor Hugo and the Making of Masculinity

Bradley Stephens is Professor of French Literature at the University of Bristol. His research spans French cultural studies since the nineteenth century, focusing particularly on phenomenology, multimedia adaptation, and gender studies. His publications include Victor Hugo, Jean-Paul Sartre, and the Liability of Liberty (2011) and a 2019 biography of Hugo.

• Introduction: reputation and reality; 1. Masculinity, patriarchy, and power; 2. To the Panthéon: the making of the Grand Homme; 3. Fluidity and becoming; 4. Grandeur and androgyny: the unmaking of the Grand Homme; 5. The Homme Océan as literary hero; 6. A man's world?; 7. A world written in water; Conclusion: (re)writing the book on patriarchy; Bibliography.

'Stephens' landmark study of Hugo's writing offers much more than a persuasive re-examination of its literary-critical importance. This book tackles head on how Hugo's works pre-eminently unmake and remake notions of greatness – including his Pantheonization – that underpin (national) canons. This book is essential reading for why these, and Hugo, speak to today.' Mary Orr, Buchanan Chair of French, University of St Andrews