Re-Reading Les MisérablesThoughts and commentary on Victor Hugo's masterpiece.https://hyperborea.org/les-mis/images/icon180.jpg2023-05-26T00:00:00Zhttps://hyperborea.org/les-mis/Kelson Vibberkelson@pobox.comhttps://kvibber.comManga, Manga, Duck2023-05-26T00:00:00Zhttps://hyperborea.org/les-mis/about/manga-and-ducks/Omnibus 2 of Takahiro Arai's Les Misérables adaptation is already out, and 3 and 4 have release dates...and then there's the Uncle Scrooge version‽<p>Oops! Here we are, May almost over, and I <em>still</em> haven’t gotten around to writing up a review of the first omnibus of <strong>Takahiro Arai’s</strong> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Mis%C3%A9rables_(manga)">manga adaptation of <em>Les Misérables</em></a>, and I just discovered that the second one is already out! I’m going to pick that up and pre-order the third (July 25) and fourth (December 5) volumes now before I forget, and make a point to review the first two before Barricade Day! [Update (June 5): so much for that plan. I <em>bought</em> volume two but I haven’t read it yet.] That should complete the story: <a href="https://sevenseasentertainment.com/series/les-miserables-omnibus/">Four English-language omnibus editions</a>, each collecting two of the original Japanese volumes.</p>
<p>While I was looking those up, I found another surprise: <a href="https://www.fantagraphics.com/products/uncle-scrooge-and-donald-duck-in-les-miserables-and-war-and-peace">Uncle Scrooge and Donald Duck in Les Misérables and War and Peace</a>. Yeah, I did a double-take. Italian comic book artist <strong><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giovan_Battista_Carpi">Giovan Battista Carpi</a></strong>, known for his extensive work on Donald Duck comics for Disney, drew <a href="https://www.duckipedia.de/Giovan_Battista_Carpi">dozens of literary parodies</a> with Donald, Daisy, Uncle Scrooge and the rest from 1960 through 1989. And Fantagraphics is reprinting them (presumably in English). This volume is scheduled to be out on August 29:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It’s Victor Hugo… duckified! When French gendarme Javert thinks that poor Jean McJean (Scrooge McDuck) stole two candlesticks, he swears to run him down–even years later, when McJean has become town mayor and guardian of Daisette (Daisy Duck). Are the candlesticks the key to a fabulous treasure lost in Paris? And do the freres Beagle and Peg Leg Thénardier want it? (Silly question!)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I’m going to have to pick this up too, aren’t I? (Also a silly question!)</p>
<footer>This post by <a class="p-author h-card" rel="author" href="https://kvibber.com">Kelson Vibber</a> originally appeared <a class="u-url" href="https://hyperborea.org/les-mis/about/manga-and-ducks/">on Re-Reading Les Misérables</a></footer>Interesting Links2023-03-10T00:00:00Zhttps://hyperborea.org/les-mis/other/links/Links to articles and other websites related to Les Misérables and/or Victor Hugo.<h3>Sites</h3>
<p><a href="https://readlesmis.libsyn.com/">The <em>Les Misérables</em> Reading Companion</a> - a fantastic podcast by Briana Lewis, Associate Professor of French at Allegheny College, who goes through the novel and brings to light context, connections, double meanings and more. Perfect to listen to between reading sessions as you make your way through the book!</p>
<h3>Articles</h3>
<p><a href="https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2021-02-14/pandemic-les-miserables-victor-hugo">What I learned about the pandemic and civil unrest from reading ‘Les Miserables’</a> - Nicholas Goldberg at <em>The Los Angeles Times</em>, Feb 14 2021. I definitely had similar thoughts over the course of 2020–2021.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>That was the year a virulent epidemic swept through Europe, arriving in Paris in March. Three months later in June, inspired by the rising death count, economic distress and anti-monarchist sentiment aimed at King Louis Philippe, unrest erupted on the streets.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><a href="https://www.themarysue.com/this-book-will-change-your-life-victor-hugos-les-miserables/">This Book Will Change Your Life</a> - Kaila Hale-Stern at <em>The Mary Sue</em>, June 30, 2017.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/03/20/520459332/let-them-eat-bread-the-theft-that-helped-inspire-les-miserables">Let Them Eat Bread</a>: The Theft That Helped Inspire ‘Les Miserables’ - Nina Martyris on NPR’s The Salt, March 20, 2017.</p>
<h3>Visuals</h3>
<p><a href="https://www.maisonsvictorhugo.paris.fr/hautevillehouse360/FR/index.html">Bienvenue a Hauteville House</a> - a virtual tour of the house Victor Hugo lived in on Guernsey, where he wrote most of _Les Misérables. (via LMRC)</p>
<p><a href="https://marinamaral.com/portfolio/paris-street-in-the-june-days-uprising-1848/">Paris street in the June Days Uprising, 1848</a> - Historic photo colorized by <a href="https://marinamaral.com/">Marina Amaral</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/marinamaral2/status/1117911482304319488">Early photos of Notre Dame</a> - Twitter thread by Marina Amaral (@marinamaral2) showing early 1800s photos of the cathedral as Hugo would have known it, before the spire was added in 1859.</p>
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/GarrettZink/status/981912609325813762">Javert, I found him!</a> - Photo of, well, take a look. @GarrettZink</p>
<footer>This post by <a class="p-author h-card" rel="author" href="https://kvibber.com">Kelson Vibber</a> originally appeared <a class="u-url" href="https://hyperborea.org/les-mis/other/links/">on Re-Reading Les Misérables</a></footer>Detweeting2023-01-15T00:00:00Zhttps://hyperborea.org/les-mis/about/detweet/I'm retiring the @ReadingLesMis Twitter account. It's been a long run. This blog is sticking around, though!<p>I’m retiring the @ReadingLesMis Twitter account. It’s been a long run, but social media has changed dramatically since 2013. It’s been 5 years since my last read-through, and even if I pick it up again, I don’t anticipate doing the play-by-play posting I used to. And even if I did, Twitter’s new ownership has been…<a href="https://www.techdirt.com/tag/elon-musk/">haphazard</a> at best, so I don’t think that would be the place for it.</p>
<p>The blog isn’t going away. I plan on reviewing the <a href="https://hyperborea.org/les-mis/about/cinder-block/">first volume of the manga</a> soon. You can <a href="https://hyperborea.org/les-mis/feed.xml">follow the blog’s feed</a> if you use Feedly or NetNewsWire or another feed reader.</p>
<p>I’m also still on <strong>Mastodon</strong> at <a href="https://wandering.shop/@KelsonV">@KelsonV@Wandering.shop</a>, on <strong>Bookwyrm</strong> at <a href="https://bookwyrm.social/user/KelsonReads">@KelsonReads@bookwyrm.social</a>, and <a href="https://hyperborea.org/reviews/">reviewing other books</a> here on my website.</p>
<p>And of course my <a href="https://hyperborea.org/journal/">main blog</a> (which this project spun out of!) is still going.</p>
<footer>This post by <a class="p-author h-card" rel="author" href="https://kvibber.com">Kelson Vibber</a> originally appeared <a class="u-url" href="https://hyperborea.org/les-mis/about/detweet/">on Re-Reading Les Misérables</a></footer>Comics Lost and Found2022-12-02T00:00:00Zhttps://hyperborea.org/les-mis/about/comics-disappearing/A number of Classics Illustrated digital comics used to be on ComiXology before it was absorbed into the Kindle store. But that doesn't seem to be why they disappeared.<p>All I wanted to do was update a couple of broken links.</p>
<p>The ComiXology store pages for the <a href="https://hyperborea.org/les-mis/reviews/manga-classics/">Manga Classics</a> and <a href="https://hyperborea.org/les-mis/reviews/comic-classics-illustrated/">Classics Illustrated</a> comic adaptations had both gone missing. I figured they were casualties of Amazon finally absorbing the last remnants of ComiXology into Kindle.</p>
<p>It was easy enough to find a new link for the Manga Classics eBook, and I added a link to the publisher while I was at it.</p>
<p>But the entire Classics Illustrated line? Nowhere to be found, at least not digitally. Amazon had print copies of just about everything, some used back issues and some more recent printings. Barnes & Noble had a whole lot of books with “classics” and “illustrated” their descriptions, but the handful I found from this line were only print. Kobo (all digital) didn’t have <em>anything</em> from the series.</p>
<p>At this point I went looking for the current publisher. What I found was an <a href="https://www.classicsillustratedbooks.com/">extensive catalog</a>, but only in print…and a <a href="https://www.classicsillustratedbooks.com/new-page">history of the series</a> that shed some light on what was going on.</p>
<p>The original publisher is long gone, and the rights have bounced around over the years. In 2020, the current publisher and the company that remastered the artwork in the early 2000s resolved a long-running dispute over the rights. It doesn’t say anything about digital editions, but given the timing, I wondered if that’s when the digital catalog dropped off of ComiXology.</p>
<h3>Update: Found It!</h3>
<p>The publisher was kind enough to point out that their books should be available digitally on B&N, and that they’re planning to sell ebooks through their own store sometime in 2023.</p>
<p>It turns out that I hadn’t narrowed down my search query enough at Barnes & Noble. If I hadn’t started this late at night, I probably would have tried searching for <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/classics%20illustrated%20les%20miserables">“Classics Illustrated Les Misérables”</a> next, which would have turned up both the print and eBook editions, as well as several other cheap eBooks that happen to have illustrations in them.</p>
<p>Apparently Barnes & Noble’s catalog thinks Classics Illustrated’s print and ebook lines are completely separate, because <em>none</em> of the books I spot-checked link from one edition to the other.</p>
<p>So yes, <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/les-miserables-classics-illustrated-9-victor-hugo/1108361666?ean=9781620280058">you <em>can</em> still buy</a> their adaptation of <em>Les Misérables</em> as an eBook! At least if you have a Nook device or app. (For future reference, here is a direct link to a more exact search for <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/%22Classics+Illustrated%22/_/N-8qa?Ns=P_Series_Number&Ntk=P_Series_Title&Ntx=mode+matchall">Classics Illustrated on the Nook</a>.)</p>
<h3>Library Scans</h3>
<p>At the time I wrote this (December 2022), the Internet Archive had a <a href="https://archive.org/details/classicsillustrated">collection of scans</a> of the series from the 1940s through the 1960s, including their 1960s version of <em>Les Misérables</em>. As of March 2023, they are no longer available.</p>
<footer>This post by <a class="p-author h-card" rel="author" href="https://kvibber.com">Kelson Vibber</a> originally appeared <a class="u-url" href="https://hyperborea.org/les-mis/about/comics-disappearing/">on Re-Reading Les Misérables</a></footer>The Brick...and the Cinder Block2022-09-02T00:00:00Zhttps://hyperborea.org/les-mis/about/cinder-block/I finally picked up a print copy of Donougher's translation, and it's even bigger than the brick-sized book I first read. Plus, I discovered the Takahiro Arai manga version is being translated into English!<p>I finally decided to pick up a print copy of Christine Donougher’s translation, which is my <a href="https://hyperborea.org/les-mis/book/first-impressions-donougher-transalation/">favorite of the modern English</a> versions. I couldn’t find it in hardcover, but I did find a paperback that was bigger than I was expecting. Here it is next to my old, yellowed, falling-apart copy of the Denny translation that I picked up in the early 1990s.</p>
<p><img src="https://hyperborea.org/les-mis/images/brick-and-cinder-block.jpg" alt="Two paperback books, one about the size of a standard brick, the other both wider and thicker." class="full" /></p>
<p>It’s bigger in all three dimensions, and weighs more than twice as much. Seriously, I weighed them. The old one is 0.59 kg and the new one is 1.45 kg.</p>
<p>If the old copy was <a href="https://www.quora.com/Why-is-Les-Mis%C3%A9rables-known-as-The-Brick?share=1">the brick</a>, this is a cinder block.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t have been surprised if I’d bought the hardcover, but the paperback?</p>
<p>I guess using higher-quality paper and normal-sized type will do that.</p>
<h2>New Manga Release</h2>
<p>While I was looking for the book, I discovered that Takahiro Arai’s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Mis%C3%A9rables_(manga)">manga adaptation</a>, originally published in Japan from 2013-2016, is being translated into English! The <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/les-miserables-takahiro-arai/1141244952?ean=9781638589952">first of four volumes</a> is coming in December 2022. I, uh, may have pre-ordered it within a few minutes of discovering it.</p>
<p>This is a different adaptation than the single-volume Manga Classics version, an English-first production that I <a href="https://hyperborea.org/les-mis/reviews/manga-classics/">reviewed a few years back</a>. This one <a href="https://gekkansunday.net/work/455/">looks amazing</a>, and I’m really looking forward to reading it!</p>
<h2>Anime</h2>
<p>And that discovery reminded me to look up <a href="https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=6912">Shōjo Cosette</a> again. The 52-episode anime series adapts the book with Cosette as the main character, and ran in Japan in 2007. But as near as I can tell, it’s never been (officially) translated into English or even (officially) released in the western hemisphere.</p>
<p>Officially.</p>
<p>Gotta be some fan subs out there…</p>
<footer>This post by <a class="p-author h-card" rel="author" href="https://kvibber.com">Kelson Vibber</a> originally appeared <a class="u-url" href="https://hyperborea.org/les-mis/about/cinder-block/">on Re-Reading Les Misérables</a></footer>It's 1817 All Over Again2021-04-06T00:00:00Zhttps://hyperborea.org/les-mis/book/1817/Every time through the book, the bishop’s chapters are more interesting. But “In the Year 1817” gets more tedious each time through.<p>Every time through the book, the <a href="https://hyperborea.org/les-mis/book/valjean-and-the-bishop/">bishop’s chapters</a> are more interesting. But “In the Year 1817” gets <em>more</em> tedious each time through.</p>
<p><a href="https://hyperborea.org/les-mis/book/slang/">Argot</a>, the <a href="https://hyperborea.org/les-mis/book/sewers/">sewers</a>, the <a href="https://hyperborea.org/les-mis/book/convents/">convent</a> - there’s at least some substance there and you can see how things connect. “1817” is just a list of contemporary pop culture references that would already have been barely relevant 50 years on, never mind 200 years on and across the world.</p>
<p>Modern editions of it have more footnotes than text. Last time I read it, it took forever because I was looking up every footnote as I got to it.</p>
<p>And it’s all ONE LONG PARAGRAPH.</p>
<footer>This post by <a class="p-author h-card" rel="author" href="https://kvibber.com">Kelson Vibber</a> originally appeared <a class="u-url" href="https://hyperborea.org/les-mis/book/1817/">on Re-Reading Les Misérables</a></footer>Now on Gemini2021-03-21T00:00:00Zhttps://hyperborea.org/les-mis/about/gemini/I've added a version of this site that runs on Gemini, an ultra-light protocol that's somewhere between a souped-up Gopher and a stripped-down Web.<p>I’ve been experimenting with Gemini, an ultra-light internet system that’s somewhere between a souped-up Gopher (for those of you who remember Gopher) and a stripped-down web. No inline images, no scripts, no styling, no cookies, no forms, no tracking - just bare-bones text, links, lists and headings. Pretty well suited for blogs.</p>
<p>Eleventy doesn’t seem to be happy with generating multiple formats from the same source, so I ended up cobbling together some scripts combining the structure I already have here, pre-processing some of the “front matter” (like titles and dates) and piping it to <a href="https://github.com/makeworld-the-better-one/md2gemini">md2gemini</a>.</p>
<p>So now you can read this blog both as a <a href="https://hyperborea.org/les-mis/">website</a> and as a <a href="gemini://hyperborea.org/les-mis/">Gemini capsule</a>!</p>
<p><a href="https://geminiprotocol.net/">Project Gemini</a> is a good introduction if you’ve never used it.</p>
<p>You do need a Gemini browser to read Gemini sites, or “capsules.” I’ve been using these (list updated Nov 2021)</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://git.skyjake.fi/skyjake/lagrange">Lagrange</a> on Windows, Mac and Linux. iOS and Android versions are in beta.</li>
<li><a href="https://github.com/makeworld-the-better-one/amfora">Amfora</a> on the Linux command-line (there are quite a few terminal-based readers!)</li>
<li><a href="https://orllewin.uk/">Seren</a> Seren picks up where the discontinued Ariane (my favorite on Android) left off.</li>
<li><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ca.snoe.deedum">Deedum</a> on Android (also <a href="https://f-droid.org/en/packages/ca.snoe.deedum/">available through F-Droid</a>).</li>
<li><a href="https://apps.apple.com/app/id1514950389">Elaho</a> is one I’ve seen mentioned on iOS, though I don’t have any iOS devices myself to try it out with.</li>
</ul>
<p>Keep in mind that it’s still pretty early in Gemini’s existence, so a lot of the software is still a bit rough around the edges.</p>
<p>And, to be honest, this site is a bit rough in Gemini too. I’ve got eight years’ worth of writing for the web on here, and while the actual text should be fine, an automated converter doesn’t know which images, links, etc. are important and which aren’t. So just as it took me a while to update all the WordPress-specific code when <a href="https://hyperborea.org/les-mis/about/eleventy/">moving the site to Eleventy</a>, it’s probably going to take me a while to adjust my conversion scripts (and in some cases the Markdown itself) to polish up the Gemlog version of the site.</p>
<footer>This post by <a class="p-author h-card" rel="author" href="https://kvibber.com">Kelson Vibber</a> originally appeared <a class="u-url" href="https://hyperborea.org/les-mis/about/gemini/">on Re-Reading Les Misérables</a></footer>Authority2021-01-13T00:00:00Zhttps://hyperborea.org/les-mis/book/authority/Javert is authoritarian, but he's not a leader. He's a follower, because he craves certainty.<p>Javert is authoritarian, but he’s not a leader. He’s a follower of what he thinks authority dictates to him. Why? because he craves <em>certainty</em>. He hates having to think for himself. And submitting to authority lets him justify any cruelty he does because it <em>must</em> be righteous!</p>
<p>Russell Crowe was horribly miscast as a <em>singing</em> Inspector Javert, but he would’ve been <em>incredible</em> in a non-musical adaptation.</p>
<p>And that visual image of him tightrope-walking on the edge of the roof during “Stars” is cinematically <em>perfect</em> as a metaphor for the way he sees the world and the way he goes about it. Narrow path, not an inch to the east, not an inch to the west, no thought, no decision, just one foot in front of the other or you’re doomed and it’s your own fault.</p>
<p>So when Valjean puts him into a position where he suddenly <em>has to start thinking for himself</em>, he can’t justify who he’s been. And he <a href="https://hyperborea.org/les-mis/book/derailing-javerts-one-track-mind/">can’t decide what path to follow</a>, because he isn’t used to making decisions. He freaks out and jumps because he can’t actually process anything.</p>
<p>Death by cognitive dissonance.</p>
<footer>This post by <a class="p-author h-card" rel="author" href="https://kvibber.com">Kelson Vibber</a> originally appeared <a class="u-url" href="https://hyperborea.org/les-mis/book/authority/">on Re-Reading Les Misérables</a></footer>Abridged Abolitionism2021-01-05T00:00:00Zhttps://hyperborea.org/les-mis/other/abolition/I always wondered what 'Lee's Miserables,' Confederate soldiers who were fans of the book, thought of Hugo's abolitionism. It turns out a Virginia publisher cut those parts out.<p>Years ago I saw a mention of <em>Les Misérables</em> being popular with Confederate soldiers, who were nicknamed “<a href="https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/09/in-camp-reading-les-miserables/">Lee’s Miserables</a>.” I thought it odd that people fighting a war to preserve slavery would have liked a book about how you shouldn’t treat people horribly even if they’re on the lower rungs of society.</p>
<p>As I reread the book, I found it even stranger, since the the rare times America is mentioned, it’s to approve of the revolution or <em>to condemn slavery</em>. Thénardier, the one major character who has no redeeming qualities whatsoever, moves to America after he leaves Paris to <a href="https://hyperborea.org/les-mis/book/end/">become a slave trader</a>. More pointedly, Hugo <a href="https://hyperborea.org/les-mis/book/paris-urchins/">praises John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry</a>, only three years before the novel’s publication and very much in the national consciousness as one of the events building up to the Civil War. What did they think of those references?</p>
<p>Well…</p>
<p>As I was putting the finishing touches on my list of <a href="https://hyperborea.org/les-mis/other/about/translations/">links to English translations of the book</a> yesterday, I decided to check <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Mis%C3%A9rables#English_translations">Wikipedia on <em>Les Mis</em></a> to see if there were any other translations that I didn’t know about. It turns out there was one more:</p>
<p>An 1863 edition published in Richmond that “fixed” the “Yankee” translation from the previous year.</p>
<p>Ugh.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/3040282?read-now=1&seq=5#page_scan_tab_contents">“Some Translations of Les Misérables”</a> (Olin H. Moore*) explains that the 1863 “Richmond Edition” was based on Charles Wilbour’s 1862 translation, allegedly to correct the translation of French idioms (which they apparently did, at least in the first volume). But they also made some cuts. The article quotes from the editor’s preface to the edition:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>A few scattered sentences, reflecting on slavery – which the author, with strange inconsistency, has thought fit to introduce into a work written mainly to denounce the European systems of labor as gigantic instruments of tyranny and oppression – it has also been deemed advisable to strike out…the absence of a few antislavery paragraphs will hardly be complained of by Southern readers.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>What, slavery is supposed to be off-topic because the book’s only about <em>European</em> oppression? You’re telling me you can’t <em>generalize</em> a book that starts by describing its intent to discuss <em>universal truths</em>?</p>
<p>I shouldn’t be surprised, but FFS!</p>
<aside class="footnote">
<p>*Modern Language Notes, vol. 74, no. 3, 1959</p>
</aside>
<footer>This post by <a class="p-author h-card" rel="author" href="https://kvibber.com">Kelson Vibber</a> originally appeared <a class="u-url" href="https://hyperborea.org/les-mis/other/abolition/">on Re-Reading Les Misérables</a></footer>Finding a Specific eBook Translation2021-01-04T00:00:00Zhttps://hyperborea.org/les-mis/about/translations/It's hard to tell which translation of Les Mis you're getting, especially in an eBook store. Here are direct links to the major ones.<p><em>Les Misérables</em> has been translated many times over the century and a half since Victor Hugo completed it, and each translation has a different tone and experience. The early translations tend to stick closer to Hugo’s text, but they’re also translated into 19th-century English with its own literary style. Newer translations take different approaches. I’ve read the Denny and Donougher translations myself, and spot-checked passages in a few of the others. If you’re trying to decide which one to read, check out <a href="https://www.marvabarnett.com/ask-marva-qa/which-translation-of-les-miserables-do-you-recommend/">Marva Barnett’s recommendations</a> and these discussions at <a href="https://owlcation.com/humanities/Best-Translations-of-Victor-Hugos-Les-Miserables">at Owlcation</a>, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/706700-which-translation">GoodReads</a> and <a href="https://www.quora.com/Which-is-the-best-English-translation-of-Les-Mis%C3%A9rables">Quora</a>.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, figuring out <strong>which translation you’re getting</strong> when buying an eBook can be tricky. Stores don’t always include the translator on the listing. They’ll mix reviews from different translations. Sometimes they’ll link a print copy of one translation to an ebook of another one. Plus since the original novel and early translations are in the public domain, the market is flooded with <em>a lot</em> of editions using the Wilbour and Hapgood translations.</p>
<p>And then you have to figure out whether the copy you’re getting is abridged or unabridged!</p>
<h3>Nineteenth Century</h3>
<p>The original French and early translations into English are now in the public domain, and you can find several of them on <strong>Project Gutenberg</strong> in multiple formats (Mobi, EPUB, HTML, etc) suitable for reading on a computer, phone, tablet, or various e-readers.</p>
<h4>Victor Hugo’s Original French (1862) <a name="french"></a></h4>
<p>The original is available on Project Gutenberg in five parts: <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/17489">Tome 1</a>, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/17493">Tome 2</a>, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/17494">Tome 3</a>, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/17518">Tome 4</a>, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/17519">Tome 5</a>.</p>
<h4>Charles Wilbour (1862) <a name="wilbour"></a></h4>
<p><img src="https://hyperborea.org/les-mis/images/modern-classics-wilbour.jpg" alt="Sepia portrait photo of Victor Hugo with a light green sidebar." />Wilbour’s translation is not available on Project Gutenberg, but a lot of modern publishers use it for their text. The Modern Library edition seems to be consistent across a lot of stores: <a href="https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/les-miserables-133/">Kobo</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Mis%C3%A9rables-Novel-Modern-Library-ebook/dp/B000FC1J2G/">Kindle</a>, <a href="https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Victor_Hugo_Les_Mis%C3%A9rables?id=CNTT12PLXeEC">Google Play</a>, <a href="https://books.apple.com/us/book/les-mis%C3%A9rables/id420039644">Apple Books</a>, <a href="https://www.ebooks.com/en-us/book/192592/les-mis-rables/victor-hugo/">eBooks.com</a>.</p>
<h4>Lascelles Wraxall (1862) <a name="wraxall"></a></h4>
<p>Wraxall’s translation is available in five parts: <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/48731">Part 1</a>, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/48732">Part 2</a>, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/48733">Part 3</a>, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/48734">Part 4</a>, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/48735">Part 5</a>.</p>
<h4>Isabel F. Hapgood (1887) <a name="hapgood"></a></h4>
<p>Hapgood’s translation is another one used by a lot of modern publishers who want to use a public domain text. Hers is available in one volume <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/135">on Project Gutenberg</a> and <a href="https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/victor-hugo/les-miserables/isabel-f-hapgood">on Standard eBooks</a>.</p>
<h3>Modern Translations</h3>
<p>The late 20th and early 21st century translations are still in copyright, so it’s sometimes easier to search by publisher than by translator. I’ve looked up direct links at some of the major ebook stores.</p>
<h4>Norman Denny (1976?, Penguin Classics) <a name="denny"></a></h4>
<p><img src="https://hyperborea.org/les-mis/images/penguin-classics-denny.jpg" alt="Painting of a crowd in front of the Arc de Triomphe, with a black band at the bottom of the cover for the title and author." />Denny attempts to streamline things for readability. I’ve read this one twice, including the first round of <a href="https://hyperborea.org/les-mis/book/">detailed commentary</a> on this site. It was <a href="https://hyperborea.org/les-mis/about/digital-edition/">released digitally</a> in 2012, as a tie-in to the <a href="https://hyperborea.org/les-mis/reviews/movie/">movie musical</a>, but is no longer available. You can still find older print copies of this translation, such as this <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0140444300/">paperback on Amazon</a>.</p>
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<h4>Lee Fahnestock and Norman Macafee (1987, Signet Classics) <a name="fahnestock"></a></h4>
<p><img src="https://hyperborea.org/les-mis/images/signet-classics-fahnestock-macafee.jpg" alt="Gray background with the same Little Cosette and tricolor flag image and font used for the musical." />Fahnestock and Macafee aim for an updated text that still preserves Hugo’s style. <a href="https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/les-miserables-255">Kobo</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Miserables-Mis%C3%A9rables-Victor-Hugo-ebook/dp/B00C5QZCK0/">Kindle</a>, <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/les-miserables-victor-hugo/1116706580?ean=9781101637777">Nook</a>, <a href="https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Victor_Hugo_Les_Miserables?id=aCQJbC4r--oC">Google Play</a>, <a href="https://books.apple.com/us/book/les-miserables/id630807641">Apple Books</a>, <a href="https://www.ebooks.com/en-us/book/1163835/les-miserables/victor-hugo/">eBooks.com</a></p>
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<h4>Julie Rose (2008, Modern Library Classics) <a name="rose"></a></h4>
<p><img src="https://hyperborea.org/les-mis/images/modern-library-classics-rose.jpg" alt="A drawing of a white candle on a yellow candlestick with drip pan on a table in front of a window with a dark blue night sky behind it." />Rose makes an effort to <em>really</em> modernize the language. Some readers have said that it’s more readable, but off-putting. <a href="https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/les-miserables-189/8ymIslZJrk62w84JWys4qQ">Kobo</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Mis%C3%A9rables-Modern-Library-Classics-ebook/dp/B00GL3RMGU/">Kindle</a>, <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/les-miserables-victor-hugo/1116706580?ean=9780812986556">Nook</a>, <a href="https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Victor_Hugo_Les_Mis%C3%A9rables?id=MdIKAgAAQBAJ">Google Play</a>, <a href="https://books.apple.com/us/book/les-mis%C3%A9rables/id741798857">Apple Books</a>, <a href="https://www.ebooks.com/en-us/book/2608964/les-mis-rables/victor-hugo/">eBooks.com</a></p>
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<h4>Christine Donougher (2013, Penguin Classics) <a name="donougher"></a></h4>
<p><img src="https://hyperborea.org/les-mis/images/penguin-classics-donougher.jpg" alt="A mostly black and white drawing of a woman waving an impossibly long red banner against a white backdrop, with Parisian buildings and flames in the distance. A black band at the bottom contains the title and author." />Donougher modernizes and streamlines the language while still preserving Hugo’s style and wit. I read this one for the <a href="https://hyperborea.org/les-mis/book/first-impressions-donougher-transalation/">second round of commentary</a> and liked it better than the Denny translation. (The first edition translated the title as <em>The Wretched</em>, but it’s been changed back, probably so readers can find it more easily.) <a href="https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/les-miserables-252">Kobo</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Mis%C3%A9rables-Victor-Hugo-ebook/dp/B00AM7E2DW/">Kindle</a>, <a href="https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Victor_Hugo_Les_Mis%C3%A9rables?id=R57VeupVJkwC">Google Play</a>, <a href="https://books.apple.com/us/book/les-mis%C3%A9rables/id586474053">Apple Books</a>, <a href="https://www.ebooks.com/en-us/book/210500849/les-mis-rables/christine-donougher/">eBooks.com</a></p>
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<footer>This post by <a class="p-author h-card" rel="author" href="https://kvibber.com">Kelson Vibber</a> originally appeared <a class="u-url" href="https://hyperborea.org/les-mis/about/translations/">on Re-Reading Les Misérables</a></footer>