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The Novel of the Century: The Extraordinary Adventure of Les Misérables
A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice Winner of the American Library in Paris Book Award, 2017Les 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.
338 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 21, 2017
66 people are currently reading
1499 people want to read
About the author
David Bellos
74 books103 followersDavid Bellos is the director of the Program in Translation and Intercultural Communication at Princeton University, where he is also a professor of French and comparative literature. He has won many awards for his translations of Georges Perec, Ismail Kadare, and others, including the Man Booker International Translator’s Award. He also received the Prix Goncourt for George Perec: A Life in Words.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 104 reviews
November 13, 2016
Subtitled, “The Extraordinary Adventure of Les Miserables,” this tells the story of how this classic novel was imagined, written, published and the many ways in which it has been filmed and staged since it first appeared. The author is keen to say that, even though “Les Miserables,” is a pretty hefty novel, it is, in fact, 365 chapters – so, were you to read one chapter a day, you could finish this within a year. Last year, I tackled Proust’s, “In Search of Lost Time,” in a similar way and I still mourn finishing that – so perhaps I am due to immerse myself in another classic fairly shortly. For, although I have seen “Les Miserables,” staged and on film, I have never actually read it and, as a lover of books over films every time, I am well aware of the shortcomings of transferring novels onto stage or screen.
Whether you have read this novel or not, this is a fascinating account of a novel written by Victor Hugo, who was, at the time when he first conceived this book, someone who would undoubtedly be viewed doubtfully in these intolerant days – for Victor Hugo was a migrant – a refugee. A man who, although previously successful in his career and financially, suffered from political changes which turned his success to exile. In fact, “Les Miserables,” was written in Guernsey, where Hugo and his family arrived in 1855.
This book briefly looks at Hugo’s life, but mainly in ways in which events were later used in, “Les Miserables.” There are mentions of experiences he had, of his awareness of the gulf between rich and poor and social injustices that he either witnessed, experienced or heard about. One of the most interesting things in this book was a “to do” list that Victor Hugo wrote in May 1860, of things he wished to changed or amend in his initial manuscript. There are only nineteen points, which seem extremely few for a novel on such a huge scale. In fact, his changes and additions would eventually double the length of the book.
Among other things, this book looks at the reasons Hugo had for writing this novel about the poor and outcast. The detail is extremely interesting – including how he chose the names of the characters, how the novel found a publisher, the politics of the novel and even the slang he used. I found this riveting and I am looking forward to now reading the novel, with a good knowledge of the background and the author. I will finish with a quote from Victor Hugo himself, who wrote this novel without knowing it would turn out to be a classic, but said, “I do not know whether it will be read by all, but I wrote it for everyone.” What better reason for writing a novel and I feel sure he would be delighted this novel has endured and so has the message.
Whether you have read this novel or not, this is a fascinating account of a novel written by Victor Hugo, who was, at the time when he first conceived this book, someone who would undoubtedly be viewed doubtfully in these intolerant days – for Victor Hugo was a migrant – a refugee. A man who, although previously successful in his career and financially, suffered from political changes which turned his success to exile. In fact, “Les Miserables,” was written in Guernsey, where Hugo and his family arrived in 1855.
This book briefly looks at Hugo’s life, but mainly in ways in which events were later used in, “Les Miserables.” There are mentions of experiences he had, of his awareness of the gulf between rich and poor and social injustices that he either witnessed, experienced or heard about. One of the most interesting things in this book was a “to do” list that Victor Hugo wrote in May 1860, of things he wished to changed or amend in his initial manuscript. There are only nineteen points, which seem extremely few for a novel on such a huge scale. In fact, his changes and additions would eventually double the length of the book.
Among other things, this book looks at the reasons Hugo had for writing this novel about the poor and outcast. The detail is extremely interesting – including how he chose the names of the characters, how the novel found a publisher, the politics of the novel and even the slang he used. I found this riveting and I am looking forward to now reading the novel, with a good knowledge of the background and the author. I will finish with a quote from Victor Hugo himself, who wrote this novel without knowing it would turn out to be a classic, but said, “I do not know whether it will be read by all, but I wrote it for everyone.” What better reason for writing a novel and I feel sure he would be delighted this novel has endured and so has the message.
March 18, 2017
Sorry guys but there are better books on this subject - Les Miserables & Victor Hugo (all available @Project Gutenberg)
Victor Hugo by Théophile Gautier. See my review here.
In: Vie de Henri Brulard by Stendhal (n 2 volumes). See my review here.
In: My memoirs by Alexandre Dumas (in 6 volumes). See my review here.
From BBc Radio 4: Book of the week:
David Bellos explores why Les Miserables is "France's greatest gift". He reveals its inspirations and its resonance now, while describing Victor Hugo's life as he penned his epic.
There has never been a book like it. War and Peace, Great Expectations, Crime and Punishment were all published in the same decade, yet only Les Misérables can stand as the novel of the nineteenth century. How did Victor Hugo's epic work come to be the most widely read and frequently adapted story of all time? And why is its message just as important for our century as it was for his own?
Author David Bellos tells the compelling story of The Novel of the Century.
Reader: Daniel Weyman
Abridged by Eileen Horne
Produced by Clive Brill
A Brill production for BBC Radio 4.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08b7rv2
Victor Hugo by Théophile Gautier. See my review here.
In: Vie de Henri Brulard by Stendhal (n 2 volumes). See my review here.
In: My memoirs by Alexandre Dumas (in 6 volumes). See my review here.
From BBc Radio 4: Book of the week:
David Bellos explores why Les Miserables is "France's greatest gift". He reveals its inspirations and its resonance now, while describing Victor Hugo's life as he penned his epic.
There has never been a book like it. War and Peace, Great Expectations, Crime and Punishment were all published in the same decade, yet only Les Misérables can stand as the novel of the nineteenth century. How did Victor Hugo's epic work come to be the most widely read and frequently adapted story of all time? And why is its message just as important for our century as it was for his own?
Author David Bellos tells the compelling story of The Novel of the Century.
Reader: Daniel Weyman
Abridged by Eileen Horne
Produced by Clive Brill
A Brill production for BBC Radio 4.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08b7rv2
February 6, 2017
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08b7rv2Description: David Bellos explores why Les Miserables is "France's greatest gift". He reveals its inspirations and its resonance now, while describing Victor Hugo's life as he penned his epic.
There has never been a book like it. War and Peace, Great Expectations, Crime and Punishment were all published in the same decade, yet only Les Misérables can stand as the novel of the nineteenth century. How did Victor Hugo's epic work come to be the most widely read and frequently adapted story of all time? And why is its message just as important for our century as it was for his own?
Excellent. Maybe a re-visit to Les Mis is needed in these testing modern times.
November 14, 2016
This is a great read for fans of Les Miserables, either the original novel or the musical with which so many are familiar. It's written with undoubted passion and enthusiasm but I have to say that it's lightweight and 'popular' for a book written by a professor of literature at Princeton. I read it hoping for something more enlightening, more scholarly, and instead got a bright and lively narrative that jumps around and is full of interesting snippets (why the colour red is associated with revolutionary politics, for example), and fragments of Hugo's biography, as well as moments of historical background and possible influences for Hugo's massive novel.
Bellos has a tendency to overstatement (is Les Mis really one of the most-read classics in the world?), does far too much story-telling recounting what happens in the novel, and rambles around, albeit in a lightly interesting way. The bibliography shows that this is located against the scholarly literature without itself adding anything original in terms of research or approach.
So I would place this as a fan's book: anyone who has loved the musical will enjoy this opportunity to delve deeper into Hugo's influences and the transmission of the book - it may even send people ( to, or back to, the novel itself which is, of course, much denser and richer than the adaptations, although it's also hugely discursive. I enjoyed this, no question, but I expected a more sophisticated literary, research-led approach from Bellos, and that's clearly not the intention of the book.
Bellos has a tendency to overstatement (is Les Mis really one of the most-read classics in the world?), does far too much story-telling recounting what happens in the novel, and rambles around, albeit in a lightly interesting way. The bibliography shows that this is located against the scholarly literature without itself adding anything original in terms of research or approach.
So I would place this as a fan's book: anyone who has loved the musical will enjoy this opportunity to delve deeper into Hugo's influences and the transmission of the book - it may even send people ( to, or back to, the novel itself which is, of course, much denser and richer than the adaptations, although it's also hugely discursive. I enjoyed this, no question, but I expected a more sophisticated literary, research-led approach from Bellos, and that's clearly not the intention of the book.
June 22, 2024
After finishing a re-read of Les Misérables and wanting to know more about the novel, I checked out David Bellos’s The Novel of the Century. The title sounds hyperbolic, though if any single novel could claim that title, it’s Les Misérables. As it turns out, much of Bellos’s writing matches the over-the-top nature of the title. Early in his flowery introduction, he tells us that Les Misérables is “the most extraordinary novel ever written in French” (xv). The writing style feels more like transcribed class lectures, where these kinds of opinions and generalizations would fit much better than in a published book. Taking The Novel of the Century in that light, it basically accomplishes its task of explaining Hugo’s creation. (Though I’d also mention that the overall structure of Bello’s book can be puzzling, moving as it does between chronological retelling of Hugo’s writing of the novel and thematic chapters on various related topics outside of that chronology.)
I didn’t love learning more about Hugo himself, as he made numerous choices, especially regarding his family, that I disagree with. But understanding the time in which he wrote, the pressures he faced professionally and politically, and the nuances of the novel all proved fascinating. Bellos explains Hugo’s intentional use of dates throughout the story—for example, that Valjean’s first prison number, 24601, refers to what Hugo believed was the date of his own conception (24 June 1801). Bellos points out other interesting aspects of the Les Mis calendar, such as the fact that Valjean first went to prison on the date that Napoleon claimed one of his first major victories, and he left prison on the date of Waterloo, thus entirely missing the reign of Napoleon that would surely have sent him into battle. Like everyone else his age, Valjean would thus either be dead or a decorated (and probably disgraced) war veteran. Thus, one of the reasons Valjean feels out of place in society is that he is unlike anyone else of his generation in having survived those years without seeing battle. (It’s also tangentially interesting that Valjean’s release from prison coincides with Edmond Dantes going into prison in The Count of Monte Cristo; then the story of Les Mis happens, concluding at the date that Dantes is released from prison and begins his story.)
In one of the final chapters, “A Story without End,” Bellos talks a little bit about stage and screen adaptations of Hugo’s novel—which began nearly as soon as the book was first published and have continued at fairly regular intervals, all over the world, ever since. I was intrigued to learn that Hugo’s son Charles adapted the novel as a two-part stage play, and that his choices of which scenes to include or omit have guided almost every adaptation since. (It makes me want to see a miniseries adaptation that really takes its time and includes the key scenes that have only rarely been portrayed on stage or screen. How odd, for instance, that the adventure of Valjean’s escape from the convent in a coffin is one of the scenes that’s usually left out.) I also thought Bellos’s consideration of the true distinction between Valjean and Javert was apt. As he says, many adaptations now present them as the difference between conscience (Valjean) and duty (Javert). Bellos points out that this represents an oversimplification, since Valjean is obviously guided by duty in numerous decisions, just as much as Javert. The true difference, Bellos suggests, is that Valjean has learned to see people as equal, and equally deserving of opportunities for education and improvement, whereas Javert is locked into seeing two kinds of people: those deserving of good in life, and those wholly undeserving. In these characters, Hugo asks the reader to learn to see humanity differently from how society had, up to that time, viewed people.
The Novel of the Century took me nearly as many days to read as the actual novel of the century that it’s about. But I found it to be very interesting and informative about Hugo’s book and the world it responded to.
I didn’t love learning more about Hugo himself, as he made numerous choices, especially regarding his family, that I disagree with. But understanding the time in which he wrote, the pressures he faced professionally and politically, and the nuances of the novel all proved fascinating. Bellos explains Hugo’s intentional use of dates throughout the story—for example, that Valjean’s first prison number, 24601, refers to what Hugo believed was the date of his own conception (24 June 1801). Bellos points out other interesting aspects of the Les Mis calendar, such as the fact that Valjean first went to prison on the date that Napoleon claimed one of his first major victories, and he left prison on the date of Waterloo, thus entirely missing the reign of Napoleon that would surely have sent him into battle. Like everyone else his age, Valjean would thus either be dead or a decorated (and probably disgraced) war veteran. Thus, one of the reasons Valjean feels out of place in society is that he is unlike anyone else of his generation in having survived those years without seeing battle. (It’s also tangentially interesting that Valjean’s release from prison coincides with Edmond Dantes going into prison in The Count of Monte Cristo; then the story of Les Mis happens, concluding at the date that Dantes is released from prison and begins his story.)
In one of the final chapters, “A Story without End,” Bellos talks a little bit about stage and screen adaptations of Hugo’s novel—which began nearly as soon as the book was first published and have continued at fairly regular intervals, all over the world, ever since. I was intrigued to learn that Hugo’s son Charles adapted the novel as a two-part stage play, and that his choices of which scenes to include or omit have guided almost every adaptation since. (It makes me want to see a miniseries adaptation that really takes its time and includes the key scenes that have only rarely been portrayed on stage or screen. How odd, for instance, that the adventure of Valjean’s escape from the convent in a coffin is one of the scenes that’s usually left out.) I also thought Bellos’s consideration of the true distinction between Valjean and Javert was apt. As he says, many adaptations now present them as the difference between conscience (Valjean) and duty (Javert). Bellos points out that this represents an oversimplification, since Valjean is obviously guided by duty in numerous decisions, just as much as Javert. The true difference, Bellos suggests, is that Valjean has learned to see people as equal, and equally deserving of opportunities for education and improvement, whereas Javert is locked into seeing two kinds of people: those deserving of good in life, and those wholly undeserving. In these characters, Hugo asks the reader to learn to see humanity differently from how society had, up to that time, viewed people.
The Novel of the Century took me nearly as many days to read as the actual novel of the century that it’s about. But I found it to be very interesting and informative about Hugo’s book and the world it responded to.
August 30, 2019
25 JAN 2017 - a recommendation through Bettie. Thank you, Dear Lady.
30 AUG 2019 - a good companion to Les Miserables providing behind the scene detail and information a book nerd like me appreciates.
30 AUG 2019 - a good companion to Les Miserables providing behind the scene detail and information a book nerd like me appreciates.
January 13, 2024
For many years I have been too intimidated to read Les Misérables. I knew I would have to wait until I found a good secondary work to help me read such a worthwlhile yet intimidating (to me) masterpiece. I found such a book in The Novel of the Century. Many topics are discussed here, topics that can help a wide variety of readers of Les Mis, including:
* Biography of Victor Hugo.
* Definition of "Les Misérables."
* Concept of revolution.
* History of French Revolution.
* Writing of the novel.
* Publishing if the novel
* intended audience of the novel.
Some topics mattered more to me, some less. Yet I read the entire book, unsure what information would inform my reading of the novel. Others may choose particular chapters or sections to read.
* Biography of Victor Hugo.
* Definition of "Les Misérables."
* Concept of revolution.
* History of French Revolution.
* Writing of the novel.
* Publishing if the novel
* intended audience of the novel.
Some topics mattered more to me, some less. Yet I read the entire book, unsure what information would inform my reading of the novel. Others may choose particular chapters or sections to read.
December 23, 2023
A good [not a great, judging by some reviews here? ] primer on the origins of Les Miserables, from the practical (currency and colour in 1830s France) to the symbolic, which sits between a lot of philosophies (of which communism was still in the near future) ...
Ok, skip that. The significance of the novel is a debate of a century and a half. I just wanted useful pointers BEFORE reading the novel (after watching the play and a few movies) and this book does that!
and naturally a biography of Hugo tied to the novel's publication history and the curious parallels between him and his protagonist Valjean. Not a full biography of course, but an efficient cull.
Ok, skip that. The significance of the novel is a debate of a century and a half. I just wanted useful pointers BEFORE reading the novel (after watching the play and a few movies) and this book does that!
and naturally a biography of Hugo tied to the novel's publication history and the curious parallels between him and his protagonist Valjean. Not a full biography of course, but an efficient cull.
April 15, 2019
You'd think that a book about such a fascinating novel would be more interesting.
February 29, 2020
My heart is full (of love).
March 21, 2023
Lively, informative, and fascinating. I couldn't help wishing this book had been available back when I was first plowing through "Les Miserables" -- it would have helped a lot. It's true that the author is rather prone to making mistakes on side issues (do not get me started on his attempt to describe several Dickens characters in chapter 16). But as far as I can tell, he's pretty sound on his main topic, and writes about it with great affection, admiration, and understanding.
April 9, 2017
The short answer is that if you love the novel or the musical Les Misérables, then yes, you should run right out and buy a copy of The Novel of the Century: The Extraordinary Adventure of Les Misérables by David Bellos. If you are what Cameron Mackintosh calls a "Les Mis freak," then this book is definitely for you. But it is also for those who love literature in general, who love a good "behind-the-scenes" documentary, who are fascinated by literary history, or who love reading about how authors work.
I couldn't have been more pleased with Bellos' account of how Les Misérables came to be, and how it came to be so famous. Though Bellos is a scholar, this was not written for scholars, which is just fine with me. It is in fact, perfect for me. And here is who I am, when it comes to Les Misérables:
I have read the unabridged edition of Les Misérables three times, and an abridged edition at least fifteen times with eighth grade students. It is one of my five or six all-time favorite novels, though I never studied it formally in school. It was my sister who first recommended it to me after she read it in high school, some twenty years ago. I began with the same edition she did, a 350-page bare-bones abridgment by James K. Robinson. It was edited so much that it was almost incomprehensible, but I loved what I could understand, so I found an unabridged copy and it filled in all the gaps--and then some.
About that time the eighth grade literature teacher at our school moved to another state, and I moved up from seventh grade to take her position. She had taught A Tale of Two Cities by Dickens, and while I love Dickens, I wasn't particularly passionate about that title, so I began searching for another book that might fit that slot: a nineteenth century historical novel a bit on the longer side. I dismissed Les Misérables at first because of its length, but when I found the Paul Bénichou abridgment (now known as the Enriched Classics edition), I knew I had found the right novel for me to teach. At just under 600 pages, it had enough of the story to make sense. It has proven to be one of the most beloved books taught at our school.
And while I have taught myself quite a bit about the novel over the years, I have still never had a course in French literature or Victor Hugo's works. So for me, Bellos' work is perfect: scholarly enough to help me go even deeper into the meaning and background of a novel I love, yet accessible enough to read and enjoy on a casual level.
But Bellos does much more than explain how the novel came to be written. He describes the laborious process of handwriting the entire manuscript, he discusses the technical challenges of printing such a large work, and he details how the plot was kept secret from the public until the last possible moment.
You'll also gain insight into how nineteenth century readers understood color, and how vital that is to understanding character. And how one bookshop owner in Paris put his entire stock in storage so that he could display a mountain of copies of Les Misérables--and how he worried that his floor would collapse from the weight of all the books. But this is perhaps my favorite bit of trivia from Bellos:
As you can see, I loved The Novel of the Century. Perhaps the biggest compliment I can give Bellos is that it makes me want to read Les Misérables again.
I couldn't have been more pleased with Bellos' account of how Les Misérables came to be, and how it came to be so famous. Though Bellos is a scholar, this was not written for scholars, which is just fine with me. It is in fact, perfect for me. And here is who I am, when it comes to Les Misérables:
I have read the unabridged edition of Les Misérables three times, and an abridged edition at least fifteen times with eighth grade students. It is one of my five or six all-time favorite novels, though I never studied it formally in school. It was my sister who first recommended it to me after she read it in high school, some twenty years ago. I began with the same edition she did, a 350-page bare-bones abridgment by James K. Robinson. It was edited so much that it was almost incomprehensible, but I loved what I could understand, so I found an unabridged copy and it filled in all the gaps--and then some.
About that time the eighth grade literature teacher at our school moved to another state, and I moved up from seventh grade to take her position. She had taught A Tale of Two Cities by Dickens, and while I love Dickens, I wasn't particularly passionate about that title, so I began searching for another book that might fit that slot: a nineteenth century historical novel a bit on the longer side. I dismissed Les Misérables at first because of its length, but when I found the Paul Bénichou abridgment (now known as the Enriched Classics edition), I knew I had found the right novel for me to teach. At just under 600 pages, it had enough of the story to make sense. It has proven to be one of the most beloved books taught at our school.
And while I have taught myself quite a bit about the novel over the years, I have still never had a course in French literature or Victor Hugo's works. So for me, Bellos' work is perfect: scholarly enough to help me go even deeper into the meaning and background of a novel I love, yet accessible enough to read and enjoy on a casual level.
But Bellos does much more than explain how the novel came to be written. He describes the laborious process of handwriting the entire manuscript, he discusses the technical challenges of printing such a large work, and he details how the plot was kept secret from the public until the last possible moment.
You'll also gain insight into how nineteenth century readers understood color, and how vital that is to understanding character. And how one bookshop owner in Paris put his entire stock in storage so that he could display a mountain of copies of Les Misérables--and how he worried that his floor would collapse from the weight of all the books. But this is perhaps my favorite bit of trivia from Bellos:
Hugo was born on 26 February 1802, but because he was a slightly premature baby, he always believed he had been conceived on 24 June 1801. Valjean’s prison number on his first incarceration at Toulon is 24601.
As you can see, I loved The Novel of the Century. Perhaps the biggest compliment I can give Bellos is that it makes me want to read Les Misérables again.
November 12, 2017
‘The Novel of the Century’ began at a disadvantage: I’d already read The Temptation of the Impossible: Victor Hugo and "Les Miserables" by Mario Vargas Llosa. It’s hard for another book about Les Mis to compete with that beautifully written ode to Hugo’s masterwork. On balance, though, I think the two are complementary. Vargas Llosa tackles the sublimity of Les Mis, which Bellos doesn’t really approach. ‘The Novel of the Century’ instead gives the ingenious and quite exciting technical details of how the novel came to be written and published, as well as carefully explaining certain themes and details. There was a little overlap with Hazan’s The Invention of Paris: A History in Footsteps in terms of locations, but the majority was new to me. I particularly enjoyed the thoughtful discussion of Hugo’s religious beliefs as incorporated into the novel, how he invented the character names, and his linguistic world-building. The latter is dealt with in some detail, which made me all the more determined to read Les Mis in the original French one of these days. I have a French copy, it’s only laziness that prevents me - my French is rusty so it would be slow going. I hadn’t realised that Hugo coined the actual term ‘Les Misérables’, nor that he'd invented, reintroduced, and re-purposed so many words.
Although it cannot match the incredible prose in The Temptation of the Impossible: Victor Hugo and "Les Miserables", ‘The Novel of Century’ is very well structured and full of fascinating information. For instance, that Les Mis was extremely popular in the USSR (rather charming) and that a version published in the South US during the Civil War had Hugo’s condemnations of slavery excised (horrifying). I was pleasantly surprised to find a polite and positive reference to Les Mis fandom and Archive of Our Own, in a chapter also describing the incredible number of film/TV/play adaptations. I love Bellos’ suggestion that the next film version should begin with the Battle of Waterloo. His defence of Hugo’s essay chapters on Waterloo, sewers, argot, etc is something I very much concur with. Removing those chapters would undermine the novel’s tempo, as well as wasting some excellent writing. In short, I expect anyone fond of Les Mis would find ‘The Novel of the Century’ a pleasant and rewarding read.
Although it cannot match the incredible prose in The Temptation of the Impossible: Victor Hugo and "Les Miserables", ‘The Novel of Century’ is very well structured and full of fascinating information. For instance, that Les Mis was extremely popular in the USSR (rather charming) and that a version published in the South US during the Civil War had Hugo’s condemnations of slavery excised (horrifying). I was pleasantly surprised to find a polite and positive reference to Les Mis fandom and Archive of Our Own, in a chapter also describing the incredible number of film/TV/play adaptations. I love Bellos’ suggestion that the next film version should begin with the Battle of Waterloo. His defence of Hugo’s essay chapters on Waterloo, sewers, argot, etc is something I very much concur with. Removing those chapters would undermine the novel’s tempo, as well as wasting some excellent writing. In short, I expect anyone fond of Les Mis would find ‘The Novel of the Century’ a pleasant and rewarding read.
April 24, 2017
pretty solid! i knew a good 80% of the information already, but the 20% i didn't was very interesting and articulated well. the book is more a collection of fun snippets with an extremely strong authorial voice – there's not really a narrative or thematic throughline here or much discipline in the way of structure. definitely a more useful and satisfying read for someone who's just a casual fan as opposed to an abject stan such as myself... having written quite significantly on some of the topics bellos discusses, i would've preferred a far more intellectually rigorous treatment of the book's cultural history.
May 7, 2018
The story of the writing of Les Misérables is just as remarkable as the novel itself. If you're mad enough to undertake a reading of the unabridged version, David Bellos' history of this novel is highly recommended. It may very well lend you the patience and fortitude you'll need to survive the Battle of Waterloo.
August 7, 2017
Excellent read, particularly for a writer. A fascinating journey from inception through birth of one of the greatest novels ever written, with the process of publication revealed to be nearly as impressive. The Audible edition, synced with the ebook, is read by the author with exceptional elocution. A truly enjoyable experience all round.
July 17, 2023
This was an excellent primer for Hugo’s masterwork. I’m hoping it will finally help me take it on. The book me reminded of Blaisdell’s great book on Anna Karenina, equally good.
(Note: I learned that the author translated another French author, Romain Gary. I had never heard of Gary previously but he’s already a favorite!).
(Note: I learned that the author translated another French author, Romain Gary. I had never heard of Gary previously but he’s already a favorite!).
February 6, 2017
Easy to read and full of interesting facts. I suspect it could have been an introduction and footnotes to an edition of Les Mis rather than a book in itself, as every other chapter is really designed to be read alongside the text rather than alone.
July 30, 2017
Written in a way that makes it very readable. If you are one of the select few to whom this sort of "inside baseball" narrative appeals-- if you like to peek behind the scenes, or if you just love Les Mis a lot-- you'll like this love letter to a classic.
June 9, 2021
A recent trend in publication that I am loving are novel biographies. A scholar writes a book about a book that tells the story of that "very famous and influential" book and details the ideas, the composition, the publication snafus, the biographical intersections of the novelist, and the afterlife and influence of that book. Gorra's book on Portrait of a Lady (Portrait of a Novel) is a superb example.
This is another good one. Bellos tells the story of Les Miserables, the groundbreaking novel of the 19th century that became a life's work. I too came to this novel through love of the musical (and novels). I re-read it for the second occasion recently (first in 30 years) and then this book.
The novel is dense and complicated in the very best ways. It probably is best digested soon after a read/re-read of the novel. A firm grasp of the intricate plot - especially the parts excised from adaptations - will enrich this book. Bellos has a good sense of the balance needed in a book like this; I learned about Hugo and his principled stands, his self-exile and his decades long composition of this novel - only his second and both supremely influential and accomplished.
I won't blow most of the details, but it certainly seems apropos to mention that Hugo placed a lot of himself and his idealized self within Jean Valjean, Bishop Myriel, and Marius as well. Learn how the quite exquisite description of Waterloo came to be composed last and inserted as a vital component. It wasn't until this re-read and especially this book that I connected the dots that Valjean's imprisonment nearly exactly fits the 19 years of Napoleon's reign as emperor. Hugo sets forth an impassioned fusillade of the world as it ought to be based on the world as it is. "Les Miserables" means the wretched, the dejected, the held back, the desperate. Valjean sits in equipoise between those who pick the righteous path and those who swindle and steal in order to survive - the Thenardiers. Everything about Hugo's composition is the result of literally three decades of composing and thought. It's a stunning achivement.
Bellos explains what we may have missed and what we certainly missed if we are not immersed in French culture and language. Vital and essential if you are a fan of the book/musical/story/film versions, or it just may convince you to take the plunge and read the book (approximately in length if not longer than War and Peace). Top 10 novels of all time? It's on my list. Bellos will convince you it should be on yours.
This is another good one. Bellos tells the story of Les Miserables, the groundbreaking novel of the 19th century that became a life's work. I too came to this novel through love of the musical (and novels). I re-read it for the second occasion recently (first in 30 years) and then this book.
The novel is dense and complicated in the very best ways. It probably is best digested soon after a read/re-read of the novel. A firm grasp of the intricate plot - especially the parts excised from adaptations - will enrich this book. Bellos has a good sense of the balance needed in a book like this; I learned about Hugo and his principled stands, his self-exile and his decades long composition of this novel - only his second and both supremely influential and accomplished.
I won't blow most of the details, but it certainly seems apropos to mention that Hugo placed a lot of himself and his idealized self within Jean Valjean, Bishop Myriel, and Marius as well. Learn how the quite exquisite description of Waterloo came to be composed last and inserted as a vital component. It wasn't until this re-read and especially this book that I connected the dots that Valjean's imprisonment nearly exactly fits the 19 years of Napoleon's reign as emperor. Hugo sets forth an impassioned fusillade of the world as it ought to be based on the world as it is. "Les Miserables" means the wretched, the dejected, the held back, the desperate. Valjean sits in equipoise between those who pick the righteous path and those who swindle and steal in order to survive - the Thenardiers. Everything about Hugo's composition is the result of literally three decades of composing and thought. It's a stunning achivement.
Bellos explains what we may have missed and what we certainly missed if we are not immersed in French culture and language. Vital and essential if you are a fan of the book/musical/story/film versions, or it just may convince you to take the plunge and read the book (approximately in length if not longer than War and Peace). Top 10 novels of all time? It's on my list. Bellos will convince you it should be on yours.
September 14, 2017
Bellos does a few things in this book--a lot of it is about the writing and publishing of Les Miserables, describing what he sees as Victor Hugo's intentions for the book and its meaning, but Bellos also gives a lot of information about the history of early 19th century France, what life was like then, the money of the time, symbolism of colors, language, and more. Though I wouldn't describe this text as scholarly, Bellos clearly is a scholar who's done a lot of research and knows a lot of things that don't necessarily relate directly to Les Miserables.
Working in publishing, I found the description of the actual publishing process both familiar and completely stress-inducing. I'd probably have killed Hugo if I were his publisher.
I'd recommend this book for fans of Les Mis, whether the book or the musical. Bellos does go into the plot, but despite having read the book years ago, I kept forgetting certain characters and plot points that Bellos would mention throughout the book. I enjoyed learning more about Hugo's beliefs about religion and politics. And Bellos's snark about Hugo's "France is the BEST EVER!!!" attitude is fairly amusing, too.
Bellos does a good job of covering a lot of material without a heavy hand. Some of the material does seem extraneous, but I consistently enjoyed it.
Quotes that stood out to me:
"If [Liberty, Equality, Fraternity] have become self-evidently desirable aims in the developed world nowadays, it is because they have been fought for again and again and made meaningful to mass audiences through works of art like Les Miserables."
About Confederate soldiers reading and relating to the book:
"In this peculiar way, a novel appealing for sympathy with the outcast and damned became the collective nickname ["Lee's Miserables"] of doomed men who saw themselves as oppressed. Seen from the French side with politics in mind, it would be comical if it weren't so abhorrent. Yet, as we have seen, Hugo's novel explicitly overrides the distinction between the destitute, the despicable and the hapless, merging them into a single collective that reconfigures the language of nineteenth-century France. 'There is a point where the poor and the wicked become mixed up and lumped together in the one fateful word: les miserables' [p. 671, adapted]. Why should ragged soldiers be excluded from this new community of the downtrodden?"
Working in publishing, I found the description of the actual publishing process both familiar and completely stress-inducing. I'd probably have killed Hugo if I were his publisher.
I'd recommend this book for fans of Les Mis, whether the book or the musical. Bellos does go into the plot, but despite having read the book years ago, I kept forgetting certain characters and plot points that Bellos would mention throughout the book. I enjoyed learning more about Hugo's beliefs about religion and politics. And Bellos's snark about Hugo's "France is the BEST EVER!!!" attitude is fairly amusing, too.
Bellos does a good job of covering a lot of material without a heavy hand. Some of the material does seem extraneous, but I consistently enjoyed it.
Quotes that stood out to me:
"If [Liberty, Equality, Fraternity] have become self-evidently desirable aims in the developed world nowadays, it is because they have been fought for again and again and made meaningful to mass audiences through works of art like Les Miserables."
About Confederate soldiers reading and relating to the book:
"In this peculiar way, a novel appealing for sympathy with the outcast and damned became the collective nickname ["Lee's Miserables"] of doomed men who saw themselves as oppressed. Seen from the French side with politics in mind, it would be comical if it weren't so abhorrent. Yet, as we have seen, Hugo's novel explicitly overrides the distinction between the destitute, the despicable and the hapless, merging them into a single collective that reconfigures the language of nineteenth-century France. 'There is a point where the poor and the wicked become mixed up and lumped together in the one fateful word: les miserables' [p. 671, adapted]. Why should ragged soldiers be excluded from this new community of the downtrodden?"
April 1, 2018
Bellos is a Princeton literature scholar who specializes in French Literature, and with this book, he examines one of the most important pieces of French literatutre, Victor Hugo's Les Misérables. The book is part Hugo biography, literature analysis, French social history, and an overview of the publishing process. The result is pretty interesting read, particularly for fans of the book or the various movies and plays that have been based upon it.
I picked this up after it was suggested to me by a friend. Since I am both a fan of the musical and the original book as well as being a big fan of history, it ended up being quite a good choice. While it is an academic read, the information is presented in a comfortable narrative that combines all the elements in a way that is both interesting and educational. To be honest, reading this made me want to go back and read the full novel, which I originally did as a 10th grader in high school.
It is definitely worth a go.
I picked this up after it was suggested to me by a friend. Since I am both a fan of the musical and the original book as well as being a big fan of history, it ended up being quite a good choice. While it is an academic read, the information is presented in a comfortable narrative that combines all the elements in a way that is both interesting and educational. To be honest, reading this made me want to go back and read the full novel, which I originally did as a 10th grader in high school.
It is definitely worth a go.
November 22, 2025
I read Les Misérables for the first time earlier this fall and then participated in a six-session virtual book club hosted by Liberty Fund's Online Library of Liberty, which made me want to learn even more about the book. The Novel of the Century: The Extraordinary Adventure of Les Misérables was an incredible place to start. I had so much fun reading this book, as I learned more about the novel, Victor Hugo, and 19th-century France. Before reading this, I was not planning on re-reading Les Misérables, but now it has definitely been moved to the re-read shelf!
June 25, 2018
I loved this biography of the novel Les Misérables! Bravo! So many interesting little details and insights about Hugo, the story’s plot and the actual writing and publishing. It never got boring!
June 10, 2019
Intriguing study of Victor Hugo, his writing of Les Misérables, and the huge book itself. Worthy of another read.
July 9, 2017
The Novel of the Century is about the writing, reception and afterlife of Les Misérables. David Bellos does a marvelous job with this blend, providing bits of French history, Victor Hugo biography, literary criticism, and the like. He is particularly strong on the writing process itself—from engaging an agent (who paid an unprecedented sum for the global rights, although limited only to eight years), to sending fair copies, proofs and corrected proofs back-and-forth on the three mail boats per week that went to/from his home in exile on the channel island of Guersney and the continent, to the eventual coordinated global launch with an advertising campaign and embargoed teasers for various papers.
The “interludes” between the five parts of Bellos’s book (organized like Les Misérables itself) provide fascinating information about the role of the color of clothing (because dye was expensive it connoted status, depending on the color), the different words for denominations of money, Hugo’s language (22,000 distinct words—including slang, regional dialects and Latin—as compared to the 2,000 distinct words in all of Racine), and the like.
The book goes into considerably less detail about the afterlife of Les Misérables but we do learn that it is the most adapted novel to screen (61 different versions, including the first fictional bit of film ever recorded). And we also learn different ways in which virtually all subsequent productions have changed the original to suit their purposes or their projections onto Hugo—for example, the Confederates during the Civil War deleting the negative references to slavery or subsequent productions playing up the Catholic content.
Bellos would succeed in his argument that it was the Novel of the Century if he did not have so many repeated references to other candidates, including Great Expectations, in a way that a book on Great Expectations probably would not have references to Les Misérables.
Overall, a good companion to the book. But could also be read as a standalone or introduction. One that you could follow up with Bellos’ suggestion to read one of the 365 chapters of Les Misérables each day for a year.
The “interludes” between the five parts of Bellos’s book (organized like Les Misérables itself) provide fascinating information about the role of the color of clothing (because dye was expensive it connoted status, depending on the color), the different words for denominations of money, Hugo’s language (22,000 distinct words—including slang, regional dialects and Latin—as compared to the 2,000 distinct words in all of Racine), and the like.
The book goes into considerably less detail about the afterlife of Les Misérables but we do learn that it is the most adapted novel to screen (61 different versions, including the first fictional bit of film ever recorded). And we also learn different ways in which virtually all subsequent productions have changed the original to suit their purposes or their projections onto Hugo—for example, the Confederates during the Civil War deleting the negative references to slavery or subsequent productions playing up the Catholic content.
Bellos would succeed in his argument that it was the Novel of the Century if he did not have so many repeated references to other candidates, including Great Expectations, in a way that a book on Great Expectations probably would not have references to Les Misérables.
Overall, a good companion to the book. But could also be read as a standalone or introduction. One that you could follow up with Bellos’ suggestion to read one of the 365 chapters of Les Misérables each day for a year.
Want to read
March 8, 2017no
March 23, 2019
What a terrific book. Of course it makes you want to sit down and read the 1000 or so pages of Les Misérables, a book I read some years ago, and couldn't put down as it reached its ending. But it does so much more: from every point of view, Bellos informs you about things that you didn't know in relation to the book and its very long writing and rewriting. You find history, geography, language, sociology and much more all woven into the background story, and discover things you wouldn't have discovered for yourself.
As a writer myself, it's intriguing to see how this book came into existence, and especially at what a white hot speed it was finally put together - along with the innumerable rewrites and corrections that happened in the days before it was printed. And Victor Hugo's breadth of humanity shines through it all. It's not surprising he was so much loved in his native France.
There a dozens of things I could mention that this book has informed me about but one of the most intriguing occurs towards the end, when Bellos tells us that the first correctEnglish translation only occurred this century. The first English translation was a much bowdlerized version, and the later one that was around for some fifty years (probably the one I read) still played fast and loose with the structure of the novel. It was only in 2008 (!) that Australian Julie Rose provided an accurate translation of the book as it was originally written. 2008!!
The other interesting thing is how little space Bellos gives to Les Mis, the musical. It barely gets a mention. And anyway, like many other stage versions, it not only leaves out important themes in the story, it adds things that have no right to be there.
24.3.19
There's a wonderful long review by Tim Parks dating from May 2017 which points up some of the issues with Bellos' rather adulating approach to Hugo: https://www.lrb.co.uk/v39/n09/tim-par...
As a writer myself, it's intriguing to see how this book came into existence, and especially at what a white hot speed it was finally put together - along with the innumerable rewrites and corrections that happened in the days before it was printed. And Victor Hugo's breadth of humanity shines through it all. It's not surprising he was so much loved in his native France.
There a dozens of things I could mention that this book has informed me about but one of the most intriguing occurs towards the end, when Bellos tells us that the first correctEnglish translation only occurred this century. The first English translation was a much bowdlerized version, and the later one that was around for some fifty years (probably the one I read) still played fast and loose with the structure of the novel. It was only in 2008 (!) that Australian Julie Rose provided an accurate translation of the book as it was originally written. 2008!!
The other interesting thing is how little space Bellos gives to Les Mis, the musical. It barely gets a mention. And anyway, like many other stage versions, it not only leaves out important themes in the story, it adds things that have no right to be there.
24.3.19
There's a wonderful long review by Tim Parks dating from May 2017 which points up some of the issues with Bellos' rather adulating approach to Hugo: https://www.lrb.co.uk/v39/n09/tim-par...
February 28, 2017
A warm and knowledgeable tribute to one of my fave novels that gives plenty of background and history . A pleasure
July 2, 2019
If you're looking for books on Les Miserables, this is excellent. Bellos' diction is incredible; he's definitely both a literature and French professor.
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