Approaches to Teaching Hugo's Les Misérables

Michal Ginsbug (Edited by), Bradley Stephens (Edited by)

9781603293365

Paperback / softback, published 30 August 2018

236 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 2 cm, 0.333 kg

This collection constitutes a rich educational tool for instructors of French who want to teach and study this great novel."" - Jacques Neefs, Johns Hopkins University

The greatest work of one of France's greatest writers, Victor Hugo's Les Misérables seemed stylistically and even politically out of date when it was published in 1862. But its indictment of injustice, concern for those suffering in misery, unapologetic embrace of the ideals of the French Revolution, and memorable characters have proved irresistible to readers for a century and a half. The novel's length, multiple narratives, and encyclopedic digressiveness make it a pleasure to read but a challenge to teach, and this volume is designed to address the needs of instructors in a variety of courses that include the novel in excerpts or as a whole.

Part 1 of the volume, ""Materials,"" provides guidance on editions in French and in English translation, biographies, criticism, and maps. Part 2, ""Approaches,"" contains essays that discuss the novel's conceptions of misère, sexuality, and the politics of the time and that demonstrate techniques for teaching the context of its literary market, adaptations, place in popular culture, and relation to other novels of its time.