The Novel of the Century
The Extraordinary Adventure of Les Misérables
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- £4.99
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- £4.99
Publisher Description
GUARDIAN BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2017
'Never mind those self-help manuals urging that some classic novel may change your life; in this sparkling study of the birth, growth and afterlife of Hugo's evergreen blockbuster, David Bellos argues that Les Misérables already has' Boyd Tonkin, Economist
'Any reader who hasn't yet embarked on Hugo's book might be converted to the idea by this one' Daniel Hahn, Spectator
The extraordinary story of how a simple tale of love and revolution, the poor and the downtrodden - Victor Hugo's beloved classic Les Misérables - conquered the world.
There has never been a book like it. It is the most widely read and frequently adapted story of all time, on stage and on film. But why is Les Misérables the novel of the century? David Bellos's remarkable new book brings to life the extraordinary story of how Hugo managed to write his epic novel despite a revolution, a coup d'état and political exile; how he pulled off the deal of the century to get it published, and set it on course to become the novel that epitomizes the grand sweep of history in the nineteenth century. Packed full of information about the background and design of Les Misérables, this biography of a masterpiece nonetheless insists that the moral and social message of Hugo's ever-popular novel is just as important for our century as it was for its own. The Novel of the Century is a book as rich, remarkable and long-lasting as the novel at its heart.
Les Misérables is available as a Penguin Classic, in an acclaimed new translation by Christine Donougher, with an introduction by Robert Tombs.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
As Bellos (Is That a Fish in Your Ear?), a translator of French literature, proves here, the story of how Victor Hugo's classic novel came to life is a challenging, complex, and utterly engrossing epic all its own. The narrative sweeps the reader along on the journey from germinating idea to published book (in April 1862). Along the way, readers meet such compelling real-life characters as Hugo's dedicated wife and publicity manager, Ad le; his equally dedicated mistress and chief copyist, Juliette Drouet; and his innovative publisher, Albert Lacroix. Some of the most fascinating sections chronicle the breathtaking laboriousness of 19th-century publishing: corrected galleys went back and forth by boat between Hugo, in exile on the Isle of Guernsey, and the Belgium-based Lacroix, who purchased 22 tons of lead type to print it all. There are tidbits of trivia sprinkled effervescently throughout (Bellos notes that reluctant readers may read just one chapter a day the novel contains 365), along with serious considerations of Hugo's relationship to the French language, his moral universe, and his political intentions for a book that spawned countless spin-offs.
