BBC Radio 4 Extra

The Novel of the Century: The Extraordinary Adventure of Les Miserables (Omnibus)

Drama: Classic & Period

Factual: Arts, Culture & the Media

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

BBC Radio 4 Extra - The Novel of the Century: The Extraordinary Adventure of Les Miserables (Omnibus)

David Bellos explores why Les Miserables is “France’s greatest gift”.

David Bellos explores why Les Miserables is “France’s greatest gift” and describes Victor Hugo’s life as he penned this 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 19th 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?

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.

Omnibus of five parts read by Daniel Weyman.  

Abridged by Eileen Horne

Producer:  Clive Brill

A Brill production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in January 2017.

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