Original version

BBC Radio 4 LW

Book of the Week

Audiobooks

Factual

Serialised book readings, featuring works from various genres

Serialised book readings, featuring works of non-fiction, biography, autobiography, travel, diaries, essays, humour and history

BBC Radio 4 FM

Book of the Week: The Novel of the Century: The Extraordinary Adventure of Les Miserables

Daniel Weyman

David Bellos

Eileen Horne

Clive Brill

Book of the Week: The Novel of the Century: The Extraordinary Adventure of Les Miserables: Episode 1

Factual: Life Stories

The Novel of the Century: The Extraordinary Adventure of Les Miserables

Episode 1

BBC Radio 4 - Book of the Week, The Novel of the Century: The Extraordinary Adventure of Les Miserables, Episode 1

David Bellos explores why Les Miserables is 'France's greatest gift'.

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.

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.

BBC Radio 4

Intelligent speech, the most insightful journalism, the wittiest comedy, the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in UK radio.

David Bellos tells the compelling story of how Victor Hugo's novel conquered the world.

David Bellos tells the compelling story of how Victor Hugo's classic novel conquered the world.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Book of the Week

The Novel of the Century: The Extraordinary Adventure of Les Miserables

Episode 1

Contributors

Genres

Formats

Brand

Series

BBC Radio 4 LW

About BBC Radio 4