Les Misérables and Its Afterlives : Between Page, Stage, and Screen

Exploring The Enduring Popularity Of Victor Hugo{u2019}s Les Misérables, This Collection Offers Analysis Of Both The Novel Itself And Its Adaptations. In Spite Of A Mixed Response From Critics, Les Misérables Instantly Became A Global Bestseller. Since Its Successful Publication Over 150 Years Ago, It Has Traveled Across Different Countries, Cultures, And Media, Giving Rise To More Than 60 International Film And Television Variations, Numerous Radio Dramatizations, Animated Versions, Comics, And Stage Plays. Most Famously, It Has Inspired The World's Longest Running Musical, Which Itself Has Generated A Wealth Of Fan-made And Online Content. Whatever Its Form, Hugo{u2019}s Tale Of Social Injustice And Personal Redemption Continues To Permeate The Popular Imagination. This Volume Draws Together Essays From Across A Variety Of Fields, Combining Readings Of Les Misérables With Reflections On Some Of Its Multimedia Afterlives, Including Musical Theater And Film From The Silent Period To Today's Digital Platforms. The Contributors Offer New Insights Into The Development And Reception Of Hugo's Celebrated Classic, Deepening Our Understanding Of The Novel As A Work That Unites Social Commentary With Artistic Vision And Raising Important Questions About The Cultural Practice Of Adaptation. -- Introduction: Les Misérables: A Prodigious Legacy / Bardley Stephens And Kathryn M. Grossman -- Part 1 Readings Of Les Misérables -- 1 On (the Usefulness Of Hunger) And Beauty / Isabel K. Roche -- 2 Foliis Ac Frondibus: Les Misérables And The Ecogarden / Karen F. Quandt -- 3 The Grotesque And Beyond In Les Misérables: Material Privation And Spiritual Tranfiguration / Laurence M. Porter -- 4 Eh Bien, Je Suis Une Femme: When La Misérable Asct / Briana Lewis -- 5 The Dark Side Of Les Misérables: Hunger, Desire And Crime / Philippe Moisan -- Part 2 Receptions And Adaptations -- 6 Homeric Variations: From Les Misérables Ot The Nouveau Roman / Fiona Cox -- 7 The Making Of A Classic: Les Misérables Takes The States, 1860-1922 / Kathryn M. Grossman -- 8 Adapting Les Misérables For The Screen: Transatlantic Debates And Rivalries / Delphine Gleizes -- 9 The Many Faces Of Javert In Anglophone Adaptation / Andrea Beaghton -- 10 Éponine On Screen / Danièle Gasiglia-laster -- 11 A New Creation: Histoire De Gavroche In Words And Song / Arnaud Laster -- 12 Les Misérables And The Twenty-first Century / Bradley Stephens -- Works Cited -- Index. Edited By Kathryn M. Grossman And Bradley Stephens. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Cover Contents List of Plates Notes on Contributors Acknowledgments Notes and Abbreviations Introduction Les Misérables: A Prodigious Legacy PART 1 Readings of Les Misérables 1 On (the Usefulness of Hunger and) Beauty 2 “Foliis ac frondibus”: Les Misérables and the Ecogarden 3 The Grotesque and Beyond inLes Misérables: Material Privation and Spiritual Transfiguration 4 “Eh bien, je suis une femme”: When La Misérable Acts 5 The Dark Side of Les Misérables: Hunger, Desire, and Crime PART 2 Receptions and Adaptations 6 Homeric Variations: From Les Misérables to the nouveau roman 7 The Making of a Classic: Les Misérables Takes the States, 1860–1922 8 Adapting Les Misérables for the Screen: Transatlantic Debates and Rivalries 9 The Many Faces of Javert in Anglophone Adaptation 10 Éponine on Screen 11 A New Creation: Histoire de Gavroche in Words and Song 12 Les Misérables and the Twenty-First Century Works Cited Index Exploring the enduring popularity of Victor Hugo's Les Miserables, this volume draws together essays from across a variety of fields, combining readings of Les Miserables with reflections on some of its multimedia afterlives, including musical theater and film from the silent period to today's digital platforms.