Books like The novel of the century by David Bellos

In *The Novel of the Century*, David Bellos offers an in‑depth look at Victor Hugo’s magnum opus, *Les Misérables*. The book consolidates a century of scholarship, presenting the novel’s origins, the political turbulence it survived, and the dramatic 19th‑century negotiations that led to its publication. Bellos also explores the work’s adaptation for stage and screen and examines how its moral and social themes continue to resonate today. The biography highlights Hugo’s perseverance during a revolution, a coup d'état, and periods of political exile, and it details the decisive deal that secured the novel’s place in literary history. Readers gain insight into how Hugo’s narrative of the downtrodden became a symbol of the grand sweep of nineteenth‑century history and why the novel remains relevant in contemporary discourse.

First publish date: 2017