Everyday low prices on a huge range of new releases and classic fiction. Check out our revolutionary sidebyside summary and analysis. Word count is a direct way to measure the length of a novel in a manner unaffected by variations of format and page size. Les miserables, 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. Les miserables by victor hugo goodreads share book. Featuring the thrilling score and beloved songs i dreamed a dream, on my own, stars, bring him home. But his attempts to become a respected member of the c. Les miserables is a novel on an epic scale, moving inexorably from the eve of the battle of. Jun 22, 2008 free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. This book is available for free download in a number of formats including epub, pdf, azw, mobi and more.
Les miserables is a french historical novel by victor hugo, first published in 1862, that is. He is seventyfive years old and lives only with a sister baptistine, ten years younger than he, and an old servant, madame magloire, the same age as his sister. Les miserables the book by victor hugo is incredibly long, but. Victor hugos les miserables debuted 150 years ago in 1862 and now has. Buy les miserables classics by hugo, victor, denny, norman, denny, norman, denny, norman from amazons fiction books store. Les miserables the book by victor hugo is incredibly long. Les miserables was a surprise winner on christmas day, while both django unchained and parental guidance also beat expectations, which bodes well for their perform this weekend. Aug 03, 2017 the ultimate measure of a storys size is its wordcount, however, so the literary geeks here at foster grant have put together a list of many of the most popular books and short stories in history for you. Jun 05, 2016 les miserables 10th anniversary concert i do not own this. Les miserables is one of the longest novels in european literature.
In the englishspeaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its original french title. Nov 01, 2003 at the beginning of the twentieth century, polls rated hugo as the greatest nineteenthcentury french poet, but his gifts as a storyteller in his plays and novels were fully acknowledged on an international scale only when les miserables was produced as the first full length feature film in france in 1909. Parisian first edition of this classic work of literature, published on april 3rd, 1862 three days after of first printing in brussels on march 31st of 1862. Book summary jean valjean, after spending nineteen years in jail and in the galleys for stealing a loaf of bread and for several attempts to escape, is finally released, but his past keeps haunting him. Les miserables, or popularly referred to as les mis or les miz, is a musical based on the novel of the same name by french poet and playwright, victor hugo the music was composed by claudemichel schonberg and the lyrics were written by alain boublil and jeanmarc natel, with an englishlanguage libretto by herbert kretzmer. In a nearby town, georges pontmercy, marius father, a hero of the napoleonic wars, lives in retirement. Set against the backdrop of 19thcentury france, les miserables tells an enthralling story of broken dreams and unrequited love, passion, sacrifice and redemptiona timeless testament to the survival of the human spirit. The book made me cry, made me feel, made me happy, made me euphoric, ecstatic, made me mad, and befuddled me on a number of occasions. As for the story itself, les miserables is simply one of the greatest stories ever told. The chinese wuxia novelist jin yong wrote a number of long novels, of which the. Les miserables 10th anniversiry concert full youtube. Signin to download and listen to this audiobook today. When hes done with that, he gives a long discussion of paris as though the city were a sort of person with a specific personality.
Indeed, this 19thcentury french authors books from the epic drama les miserables to the classic unrequited love story the hunchback of notre dame have spanned the ages, their themes of morality and redemption as applicable to our times as to his. As much a history or commentary as a work of fiction, les miserables is dominated by frances past. Hugo opens book three of les miserables by discussing the street children of paris and going through all of the different types of urchins as though they were subspecies of humanity. Les miserables victor hugo first edition raptis rare books. Victor hugos tale of injustice, heroism and love follows the fortunes of jean valjean, an escaped convict determined to put his criminal past behind him. Victor hugo tells his classic story of redemption and struggle, now a major motion picture, of a tormenting police officer and a former convict. The book, first published in 1862, is set in 19th century france and still captures imagination and emotion today. Behr quotes this passage at length in behr, complete book, 3236. Les miserables has been the subject of a large number of adaptations in. Les miserables audiobook by christine donougher, victor. Directed by gavin taylor produced by cameron mackintosh written by alain bouilli herbert.
Very disappointed that i couldnt locate a hard copy of les miserables or a largerdimensioned paperback book like a textbook size. Sep 26, 2012 as for the story itself, les miserables is simply one of the greatest stories ever told. It was an instant popular success and was quickly translated into several languages. Les miserables achieves its immense length partly for this reason and partly because the bits of dialogue are in fact large lumps. Dominic west, david oyewolo, lily collins and olivia colman star in an epic adaption of les miserables on masterpiece on pbs. Les miserables penguin classics paperback april 29, 1982. Length of a book is typically associated with its sizespecifically page countleading many to assume the largest and thickest book equates to its length.
Its about 830 pages long, unalike the unabridged version, which is around 0. Hugo now turns to another leading character, marius. Les miserables questions and answers discover the community of teachers, mentors and students just like you that can answer any question you might have on les miserables. Les miserables by victor hugo paste paste magazine. Victor hugos les miserables debuted 150 years ago in 1862 and now has become the literal definition of the big book. Written by christine donougher, victor hugo, robert tombs, audiobook narrated by. Introducing one of the most famous characters in literature, jean valjeanthe noble peasant imprisoned for stealing a loaf of breadles miserables ranks among the greatest novels of all time. Les miserables the musical is based on victor hugos epic novel, spanning two decades in the life of jean valjean. Les miserables, five volumes, complete by victor hugo. Compiling a list of longest novels yields different results depending on whether pages, words or characters are counted.
Find more information about the show and book now from. Les miserables, novel by victor hugo, published in french in 1862. That the prolixity is sometimes appropriate to the speakeras. In 19thcentury france, jean valjean, who for decades has been hunted by the ruthless policeman javert after breaking parole, agrees to care for a factory workers daughter. After you read les mis, you feel like you know fantine, and her song from the show, i dreamed a dream. By this point in the book hugo has already made clear at preposterous length that he advocates the grandest of. Dec 29, 2018 les miserables is an iconic west end musical, synonymous with the west end and currently in its fourth decade. To get the free app, enter your mobile phone number. Gillenormand, by threatening to disinherit marius, has forced georges. The epic novel is divided in five volumes, each of which is divided into several books and subdivided into chapters, totaling 48 books and 365 chapters. If a writer wrote merely for his time, i would have to break my pen and throw it away, the largerthanlife victor hugo once confessed. When valjean arrives at the town of digne, no one is willing to give him shelter because he is an exconvict.
Hugo has a number of names for this meaning fate, destiny, god, the infinite. The official website for the stage production of les miserables. Buy les miserables classics by hugo, victor, denny, norman, denny, norman. This is the best translation of the novel available in english, as recommended. This is a list of the novels over 500,000 words published through a mainstream publisher. That work of art exudes all beauty and majesty in one continuous song that unites the characters through time. Set in the parisian underworld and plotted like a detective story, the work follows the fortunes of the convict jean valjean, a victim of society. Ive always been intimidated by the length of les miserables, but it was worth getting into. With hugh jackman, russell crowe, anne hathaway, amanda seyfried.
Charles francoisbienvenu myriel has been bishop of digne for nine years. Marius is a seventeenyearold who lives with his grandfather, m. Buy les miserables tickets directly from the official theatre box office for the best choice of seats. In a shortened version of the book, les mis is about pages long. Collecting les miserables by hugo, victor first edition. Make sure you take a look at our range of reading glasses if you need a little help reading your next book. Click the link for more information on the show, to buy tickets and much much more. Les miserables 10th anniversary concert i do not own this. Word count is a direct way to measure the length of a novel in a manner. Only three years after the original run closed, les miserables began a return to broadway on 9 november 2006 at the broadhurst theatre for a limited run that was subsequently made openended. The longest novel is artamene ou le grand cyrus, originally published. Christine donoughers seamless and very modern translation of les miserables. It takes out the long digressions of the convent, waterloo, and other dissertations, leaving a wellcut story that doesnt take out any important details. The convict jean valjean is released from a french prison after serving nineteen years for stealing a loaf of bread and for subsequent attempts to escape from prison.