The Novel of the Century: The Extraordinary Adventure of Les misérables by David Bellos (review)

It seems fitting that a book about the genesis, evolution, and publication of a work as complex and as sprawling as Les misérables should be multifaceted. At the heart of his study, Bellos retraces the tumultuous course of events from November 1845 to April 1862; that is, from the time when Hugo, member of the Académie française and pair de France, started to write his novel, to the day when, from exile, he finally authorized release of the first volumes. That story in itself, related in lively fashion, makes for entertaining reading. Documenting Hugo's "magpie approach" (37), his penchant for drawing material from a wide range of sources, Bellos is quick to point out instances where fictional plot reflects real-life experience. At times, moreover, he dramatically recreates developments, such as Hugo's personal involvement in the turbulent events of early 1848, his astute negotiation of the "Contract of the Century" (133), which, transposed into today's values,"remains the highest figure ever paid for a work of literature" (140), or the tumultuous scene the day the novel finally went on sale. Along the way, periodic "interludes" (somewhat akin to the essay chapters in the novel) offer insight into aspects of life in nineteenth-century France that would have been common knowledge to Hugo's contemporaries, but are no longer self-evident today: the subtle connotations of different colors, for example, or of the names of characters that were always chosen with great care; what various terms for monetary denominations represented in the way of actual value; the range of transportation options available at the time; the evolving technology of printing and the book trade throughout Hugo's lifetime; or the web of copyright treaties that essentially dictated that the novel be published in Brussels. Bellos readily shares musings of a more personal nature as well: why, for example, he finds Les misérables "unusual among nineteenth-century French novels for not talking at any point about adultery or even sex" (32); how he imagines filming a version of the battle scene at Waterloo that is, for him, the "real beginning" (176) of the novel, even if it was written last; how Hugo could have been the most widely read French author in the Soviet Union during the Cold War era and Les misérables published without cuts under such an authoritarian regime; or lessons that Hugo's masterpiece might still offer for the very different world in which we live today. If Bellos's narrative can appear at times to meander, the overall organization of the study is nevertheless easy to follow, the breadth of the underlying scholarship impressive, and the writing always intelligent and engaging. Two simple maps at the outset enable readers to follow the circuitous route of Hugo's masterpiece toward eventual publication, while helpful end material includes a timeline of events in nineteenth-century France and an index of names. Since all material originally in French has been translated, this is a book that will appeal to a wide audience, popular as well as scholarly.