The third son of a general in Napoleon’s army, Hugo’s early years were unstable and marked by constant travel. He started writing at age 14 and founded a literary review at age 17. At age 20 he married a childhood friend, Adele Foucher, with whom he had five children. In 1843 his daughter and her husband were accidentally drowned – Hugo’s resulting grief was channeled into "Les Miserables". He also outlived his wife and two of his sons. In his later years he was a French national hero, celebrated for his defense of Republicanism. When he died in 1885 he was given a state funeral and buried in the Pantheon.