Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

Les Miserables is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its original French title. However, several alternatives have been used, including The Miserables, The Wretched, The Miserable Ones, The Poor Ones, The Wretched Poor, The Victims and The Dispossessed.

Beginning in 1815 and culminating in the 1832 June Rebellion in Paris, the novel follows the lives and interactions of several characters, particularly the struggles of ex-convict Jean Valjean and his experience of redemption. Les Miserables examining the nature of law and grace, the novel elaborates upon the history of France, the architecture and urban design of Paris, politics, moral philosophy, antimonarchism, justice, religion, and the types and nature of romantic and familial love.

Les Mis rables has been popularized through numerous adaptations for the stage, television, and film, including a musical and a film adaptation of that musical. The appearance of the Miserables was highly anticipated and advertised. Critical reactions were diverse, but most of them were negative. Commercially, the work was a great success globally. A monumental classic and one of the most widely read novels in history, Les Miserables portrays the epic struggle between good and evil in the soul of one man: Jean Valjean.

In a world brutalized by poverty and ignorance, the ex-convict struggles to renew his life and reaffirm his humanity. But he is haunted, both by his seemingly inescapable past and the malignant shadow of the infamous police detective Javert. Rich in detail, packed with adventure, and filled with the sweep of human passions, Les Mis rables is more than a literary masterpiece--it remains a powerful social document. Dedicated to the poor, the oppressed, and the misunderstood, this captivating novel captures the impossible societal layers--and the essence of life--as it truly existed in nineteenth-century France.

Born in 1802, the son of a high officer in Napoleon's army, Victor Hugo spent his childhood against a background of military life in Elba, Corsica, Naples, and Madrid. After the Napoleonic defeat, the Hugo family settled in straitened circumstances in Paris, where, at the age of fifteen, Victor Hugo commenced his literary career with a poem submitted to a contest sponsored by the Academie Francaise. Twenty-four years later, Hugo was elected to the Academie, having helped revolutionize French literature with his poems, plays, and novels. Entering politics, he won a seat in the National Assembly in 1848; but in 1851, he was forced to flee the country because of his opposition to Louis Napoleon. In exile on the Isle of Guernsey, he became a symbol of French resistance to tyranny; upon his return to Paris after the Revolution of 1870, he was greeted as a national hero. He continued to serve in public life and to write with unabated vigor until his death in 1885. He was buried in the Pantheon with every honor the French nation could bestow.

Lee Fahnestock and Norman MacAfee have translated two volumes of the letters of Jean-Paul Sartre, edited by Simone de Beauvoir: Witness to My Life and Quiet Moments in a War. For their work together, they have received an NEA Translation fellowship and the American Literary Translators Association Award. Lee Fahnestock has translated fiction as well as four volumes of the poetry of Francis Ponge, including The Making of the Pre and The Nature of Things. The French Government honored her with the Chevalier de l'ordre des arts et des lettres. Norman MacAfee's other books include One Class: Selected Poems; The Gospel According to RFK: Why It Matters Now; the opera The Death of the Forest; and translations of Pier Paolo Pasolini's poetry.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9782090318128
ISBN 10	2090318120
Title	Les Miserables
Author	Victor Hugo
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Cle International
Year published	2003-02-03
Number of pages	63
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	Unavailable