Adèle H
On September 6, celebrate 50 years since Francois Truffaut’s landmark ‘The story of Adèle H’ was filmed in Guernsey!
In the afternoon of Saturday 6, we will be welcoming Laura El Makki, whose recent biography of Adèle Hugo won the 2025 Victor Hugo Prize. We were delighted to have invited Laura to lecture the Society in 2023 at our Victor Hugo Weekend, ‘Victor Hugo: Campaigner’. Laura will tell us about Adèle’s life and her relationship with her father, Victor Hugo, and her lover, Englishman Albert Pinson. Accompanying Laura as lecturer will be Professor Diana Holmes, President of the Society for French Studies, who is an expert on Francois Truffaut and his work. There will be a discussion and opportunity for questions afterwards. Then will follow a short film exploring the locations for the film and islanders’ memories of its shooting, made especially for this event. A free showing of the film itself will end the afternoon. Tickets for the lectures (free to students) and the free showing of the film are available from Guernsey Tickets.
A celebratory dinner will take place in the evening at the Pandora Hotel. For tickets and a menu please go to our webshop.
'Take pity on my poor little adele. TAKE pity.'
The portrait of Adèle Hugo from the vestibule at Hauteville House, Guernsey, by Hugo’s friend the medallist and sculptor David d’Angers, 1845
– Je prie. –
– Ô Dieu, ayez pitié de tout ce qui souffre, de tout ce qui expie, de tout ce qui a failli, et de tout ce qui peut faillir, sur cette terre et hors de cette terre.
De tous les heureux,
de tous les justes,
de tous les malheureux
de ma pauvre fille Adèle,
de mes chers petits Georges et Jeanne,
de tous les innocents,
de tous les coupables,
de tous les injustes,
de tous les misérables,
de Louis Bonaparte,
de moi.
Ayez pitié de ma pauvre petite Adèle. Ayez pitié.
Délivrez, pardonnez, émancipez, affranchissez, sauvez, transfigurez !
Ayez pitié, d’elle que j’aime, et de moi, de mon cher fils Victor et de moi, de vous et de moi. Pitié !
[9 August 1872, from Carnet/Notebook June-December 1872]