Whilst the upheaval of revolution transforms France, young idealistic romantics in Paris such as Alexandre Dumas, Victor Hugo, George Sand and Hector Berlioz amongst others, dream of a new world through their art.

1833-1848: The romantics have triumphed. Their plays are performed in the theatre and their novels fill bookshops whilst concert halls hear the notes of their music. While Hugo is elected to the prestigious Académie Française and Dumas inaugurates his theatre, Balzac is occupied with his great work ‘The Human Comedy’.

The 1848 revolution shakes the foundations of the monarchy. Lamartine proclaims a republic while the romantics. Dumas, Hugo and Sand become politically active and the courage of their convictions is tested...

Exiled in Guernsey from October 1855, Hugo completes "Les Misérables" with the help of his lifelong mistress, Juliette Drouet. In Paris, art is under attack: Gustave Flaubert's "Madame Bovary", Baudelaire's "Les fleurs du mal" and Manet's "Le déjeuner sur l'herbe" are all censored.