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Book

The novel of the century : the extraordinary adventure of Les Misérables

Call Number

  • 843 H89.1B (OSH)

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Edition

First American edition.

Publication Information

New York : Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2017.

Physical Description

xxii, 307 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Summary

"The story of how Victor Hugo wrote Les Misérables and why it became among the most influential and protean works of art ever created"--

Contents

  • Introduction: The journey of Les Misérables
  • Part one. Crimes and punishments
  • Victor Hugo opens his eyes
  • Fantine
  • The first draft
  • Part two. Treasure islands
  • The money plot
  • Hauteville house
  • The beliefs of Victor Hugo
  • Hugo gets back to work
  • Interlude: Inventing the names
  • Part three. Rooms with a view
  • Victory at Waterloo
  • The contract of the century
  • The five parts of Les Misérables
  • Interlude: the mind of Jean Valjean
  • Part four. War, peace and progress
  • The start of it all
  • The Paris of Les Misérables
  • The politics of Les Misérables
  • The stumbling block
  • Interlude: High style, low style, Latin and slang
  • Part five: Great expectations
  • Publication day: 4 April 1862
  • A story without end
  • The meaning of Les Misérables
  • Epilogue: Journey's end
  • France in the nineteenth century: a time line.

Subjects