Marva A. Barnett

An expert on Victor Hugo, University of Virginia (UVA) Professor Emerita Marva Barnett was named Chevalier des Palmes académiques for her contributions to Hugo studies. Her latest book, co-edited with UVA Professor Emeritus and translator par excellence Robert F. Cook--"Living with Purpose: Inspiration from the Works of Victor Hugo"--introduces Hugo's writing and art work through his major themes.

Her exploration of Hugo's insights on living a conscientious life--as revealed through both his majestic novel "Les Misérables" and his own life--is "To Love Is to Act: 'Les Misérables' and Victor Hugo's Vision for Leading Lives of Conscience" (2020).

Her bilingual anthology, "Victor Hugo on Things That Matter: A Reader," appeared 2010. In 2012, she published a co-edited French volume of 101 letters to Hugo from his lover and muse, Juliette Drouet.

Marva loves speaking about Hugo; she was only non-French Hugo specialist invited to the 2017 Paris colloquium on Drouet and the North American speaker at the 2019 Havana international colloquium "Victor Hugo, Visionary for Peace."

Dedicated to teaching "Les Misérables," she delighted in hosting "Les Mis" creators Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg as artists-in-residence at UVA in 2014 and 2017 (video conversations on her site). It was also a thrill to interview them and "Les Mis" musical/movie creators Hugh Jackman, Tom Hooper, Colm Wilkinson, and Sir Cameron Mackintosh for "To Love Is to Act."

Marva connects with her readers through her website, which is her name dot com.