The King Takes His Amusement, 1832
Original title: Le Roi s'amuse
Hugo had found a book, Histoire de Blois, at his father's home. In it, he discovered the character of Triboulet, the fool of François I's court. He created a drama around this figure, keeping nothing of facts or historic authenticity. Instead, Triboulet is a procurer to the licentious monarch and by unlikely complications his own daughter becomes the victim of her fathers business with the King.
The King Takes His Amusement premiered on 22 November 1832 at Théâtre Française. Although the forces from the battle of Hernani were present, the play flopped. The first act rendered ovations, but in the second, too much mockery were made of the nobility. Some of Hugo's most devoted supporters even left before the play ended. The next day, the drama was banned; the court could not allow the monarchy to be scorned in this manner.
Hugo's and his publisher's protests were futile - The King Takes His Amusement were performed only once. The printed play, however, became an instant success when published - perhaps the plot had been impossible to comprehend in the alarming noice of the theatre's auditorium; in print the play was delivered to the reader without interruption.
Notes:
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Giuseppe Verdi's opera Rigoletto is based on Hugo's The King Takes His Amusement. Read more about it!
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The King Takes His Amusement has also been adapted for cinema several times. In the Adaptations section, you'll find two American films from 1909 - one directed by J. Stuart Blackton and one by D.W. Griffith, an Austrian from 1918, an Italian in 1941, a Mexican in 1944 and a Russian in 1993.