The Novel of the Century

The Extraordinary Adventure of Les Misérables

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, French, European, Biography & Memoir, Literary
Cover of the book The Novel of the Century by David Bellos, Farrar, Straus and Giroux
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Author: David Bellos ISBN: 9780374716295
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux Publication: March 21, 2017
Imprint: Farrar, Straus and Giroux Language: English
Author: David Bellos
ISBN: 9780374716295
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication: March 21, 2017
Imprint: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Language: English

A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice
Winner of the American Library in Paris Book Award, 2017

Les Misérables is among the most popular and enduring novels ever written. Like Inspector Javert’s dogged pursuit of Jean Valjean, its appeal has never waned, but only grown broader in its one-hundred-and-fifty-year life. Whether we encounter Victor Hugo’s story on the page, onstage, or on-screen, Les Misérables continues to captivate while also, perhaps unexpectedly, speaking to contemporary concerns. In The Novel of the Century, the acclaimed scholar and translator David Bellos tells us why.

This enchanting biography of a classic of world literature is written for “Les Mis” fanatics and novices alike. Casting decades of scholarship into accessible narrative form, Bellos brings to life the extraordinary story of how Victor Hugo managed to write his novel of the downtrodden despite a revolution, a coup d’état, and political exile; how he pulled off a pathbreaking deal to get it published; and how his approach to the “social question” would define his era’s moral imagination. More than an ode to Hugo’s masterpiece, The Novel of the Century also shows that what Les Misérables has to say about poverty, history, and revolution is full of meaning today.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice
Winner of the American Library in Paris Book Award, 2017

Les Misérables is among the most popular and enduring novels ever written. Like Inspector Javert’s dogged pursuit of Jean Valjean, its appeal has never waned, but only grown broader in its one-hundred-and-fifty-year life. Whether we encounter Victor Hugo’s story on the page, onstage, or on-screen, Les Misérables continues to captivate while also, perhaps unexpectedly, speaking to contemporary concerns. In The Novel of the Century, the acclaimed scholar and translator David Bellos tells us why.

This enchanting biography of a classic of world literature is written for “Les Mis” fanatics and novices alike. Casting decades of scholarship into accessible narrative form, Bellos brings to life the extraordinary story of how Victor Hugo managed to write his novel of the downtrodden despite a revolution, a coup d’état, and political exile; how he pulled off a pathbreaking deal to get it published; and how his approach to the “social question” would define his era’s moral imagination. More than an ode to Hugo’s masterpiece, The Novel of the Century also shows that what Les Misérables has to say about poverty, history, and revolution is full of meaning today.

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