Best known for Les Miserables and the Hunchback of Notre Dame Victor Hugo had married his childhood sweetheart. An actress reading for a part one of his plays (Lucretia Borgia). caught his eye. Her name was Juliette Drouot and she became his mistress for life. He set her up in a small apartment where she waited for his visits. She spent her days writing him letters – over 20,000 during her lifetime.

He had other affairs but Juliette was always there.

The family knew about her and she even accompanied Hugo when he went into exile in Jersey and Guernsey. She maintained a respectful attitude toward the family situation and always had her own separate dwelling. They never married in spite of the fact Hugo’s wife died. The relationship continued when he returned to Paris. Juliette spent her last years looking after him until she died aged. Hugo died two years later, aged 83.