Hugo's grand medieval melodrama tells the story of the beautiful Esmeralda, a gypsy girl loved by three men: Archdeacon Frollo, his adoptive son Quasimodo, bell-ringer of Notre-Dame cathedral, and Captain Phoebus. Falsely accused of trying to murder Phoebus, who attempts to rape her, Esmeralda is se[...]
'One of the best biographies I have read, ever' Selina Hastings 'Mr Robb has written an enthralling book -- one of the great biographies of our time. He contrives not to be dwarfed by his subject, which is some contrivance. He makes of Hugo's life a story as exciting to read as it was extraordinary [...]
It has been said that Victor Hugo has a street named after him in virtually every town in France. A major reason for the singular celebrity of this most popular and versatile of the great French writers is "Les Miserables "(1862). In this story of the trials of the peasant Jean Valjean--a man unjust[...]
Sensational, dramatic, packed with rich excitement and filled with the sweep and violence of human passions, LES MISERABLES is not only superb adventure but a powerful social document. The story of how the convict Jean-Valjean struggled to escape his past and reaffirm his humanity, in a world brutal[...]
After nineteen years in prison, Jean Valjean has difficulty adjusting to the outside world, which scorns and shuns him.[...]
Victor Hugo's towering novel of Jean Valjean, his unjust imprisonment, and his lifelong flight from a relentless police officer.[...]
Here is the haunting drama of Quasimodo, the hunchback; Esmeralda, the gypsy dancer; and Claude Frollo, the priest tortured by his own damnation. Shaped by a profound sense of tragic irony, it is a work that gives full play to the author's brilliant imagination.
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This extraordinary historical novel, set in Medieval Paris under the twin towers of its greatest structure and supreme symbol, the cathedral of Notre-Dame, is the haunting drama of Quasimodo, the hunchback; Esmeralda, the gypsy dancer; and Claude Frollo, the priest tortured by the specter of his own[...]
Quasimodo, the reclusive bell-ringer of Notre-Dame, tries desparately to save the beautiful gypsy, Esmerelda--with whom he's fallen in love--from her unjust and untimely death.[...]
The classic novel--and hit Broadway show--about escaped convict Jean Valjean has been adapted with easy-to-read text, large type, and short chapters. This engaging adaptation of the timeless tale is ideal for reluctant readers and kids not yet ready to tackle the original.[...]
It was one of the most popular novels of the nineteenth century and Tolstoy called it "the greatest of all novels." Yet today Victor Hugo's Les Misrables is neglected by readers and undervalued by critics. In The Temptation of the Impossible, one of the world's great novelists, Mario Vargas Llosa, h[...]
Originally published in 1922, this volume contains two pieces from Hugo's epic collection La legende des siecles.[...]
Set in a richly rendered 15th century Paris, Victor Hugo's powerful drama focuses on a beautiful gypsy girl named Esmeralda, the two men (one an obsessed and manipulative priest) who love her and the pitiful hunchback Quasimodo who tries to save her. With this spellbinding version, kids can enjoy al[...]
Classic / American English Ugly and unwanted by the outside world, Quasimodo the hunchback lives under the protection of the priest in the Cathedral of Notre-Dame. Then his quiet life is destroyed by the priest's evil plans for a beautiful gypsy girl. The priest needs Quasimodo's help. But the hunch[...]
Classic / British English Jean Valjean is free at last after nineteen years in prison. Cold and hungry, he is rejected by everyone he meets. But Jean's life is changed forever when he discovers love. He spends the rest of his life helping people, like himself, who have been victims of poverty and so[...]
ENDURING LITERATURE ILLUMINATED BY PRACTICAL SCHOLARSHIP An ex-convict struggles for redemption in the punishing world of post-Napoleonic France. EACH ENRICHED CLASSIC EDITION INCLUDES: - A concise introduction that gives readers important background information - A chronology of the author's life[...]