The Novel of the Century
“This biography of one of the world’s most read novels is rich in extraordinary detail.”
The Guardian (London)
Winner of the American Library in Paris Book Award
A New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice of the Week
Les Misérables by Victor Hugo is among the most popular and enduring novels ever written. Here is the story behind the creation of the great novel.
The Novel of the Century 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 the deal of the century to get it published; and how he 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 book's origins and later career on stage and screen, this biography of a masterpiece also shows how and why the moral and social messages of Les Misérables are full of meaning for our time.
Putting a century of scholarship on one of the world's most enduring popular novels into accessible, narrative form, this new approach to a classic of world literature is written for a wide general readership.
Praise