Perhaps the most famous of the adaptations is the stage musical brought to life by Alain Boubil and Claude-Michel Schonberg, who captured the novel’s soul in songs such as On My Own, Castle on a Cloud and I Dreamed a Dream. By 1935, a film version was made, while in 1937, Orson Welles adapted it for radio. The novel inevitably found a home in various media. By 1962, it made its English translation debut. It was even translated into various languages including Greek, Italian and Portuguese. Les Misérables has enjoyed tremendous popularity since it first hit the shelves in the 19th century. In French, the novel spans some 1,500 pages, while its English translation is even longer at 1,900 pages. With so many themes wonderfully woven into a complex and captivating story, no wonder it is one of the longest novels ever written. It covers French history, society, politics and even architecture, and at the same time deals with universal themes of injustice, love in its many forms, the quest for redemption and even the evolution of a man’s soul. Set in 1815, it follows the struggles of many characters, most notably, Jean Valjean. The French title Les Misérables is translated into English as The Miserable Ones, The Victims or The Poor Ones. After all, we still have hope, injustice, love, strife, drama and yes, misery in the 21st century. Though their fictional lives are set two centuries ago, their angst, sorrow, joy, hopes, dreams and even their misery resonate even in today’s times. Hugo’s highly complex characters such as Jean Valjean, Javert, Fantine, Cosette and Eponine have become popular all around the world.

When Victor Hugo first published his classic novel Les Misérables, little did he know that his French historical novel would be translated into other languages and evolve into various adaptations on stage and film, including an award winning movie version in 2012.

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