Victor Hugo (1802-1885) lived on the island of Guernesey, where he wrote Les Misérables. His house, Hauteville, was a remarkable light and airy hilltop domain, with vast views of the Channel and his French homeland on the horizon.

Nigel Richardson says:
"Hauteville's secret doors, dark carved wood, chinoiserie, mirrors, and constant play of light and dark make it feel more like being inside a fertile imagination than a house."

Oh, to be in exile there.