Les Misérables

Penguin Classics

By: Victor Hugo, Robert Tombs - introduction, Christine Donougher - translator

Narrated by: Adeel Akhtar, Natalie Simpson, Adrian Scarborough, Emma Fielding, John Owen-Jones

Brought to you by Penguin.

This Penguin Classic is performed by an ensemble cast which includes the BAFTA award-winning actor Adeel Akhtar (Killing Eve; The Night Manager; Les Miserables), Adrian Scarborough (Gavin and Stacey; The King's Speech), Natalie Simpson (Outlander; Les Miserables), Emma Fielding (Unforgotten; Les Miserables) and John Owen-Jones, who was the youngest actor ever to play the part of Jean Valjean in the stage show of Les Miserables, and who has appeared as Jean Valjean on Broadway and in the West End. This definitive recording includes an introduction by Robert Tombs.

Victor Hugo's tale of injustice, heroism and love follows the fortunes of Jean Valjean, an escaped convict determined to put his criminal past behind him. But his attempts to become a respected member of the community are constantly put under threat: by his own conscience, and by the relentless investigations of the dogged policeman Javert. It is not simply for himself that Valjean must stay free, however, for he has sworn to protect the baby daughter of Fantine, driven to prostitution by poverty.

(P) Penguin Audio 2020

Critic reviews

A magnificent achievement. It reads easily, sometimes racily, and Hugo's narrative power is never let down ... An almost flawless translation, which brings the full flavour of one of the greatest novels of the nineteenth century to new readers in the twenty-first

Christine Donougher's seamless and very modern translation of Les Misérables has an astonishing effect in that it reminds readers that Hugo was going further than any Dickensian lament about social conditions ... The Wretched touches the soul

Top 5 Books Of All Time

One of the greatest novels of all time. Now that I’ve finally read it, I know this to be true. Very talented voice artist(s).

Best book on Audible

This was magnificent. Every word a dagger to the soul. Beauty and horror present throughout. Each narrator brought a certain special essence. Marius book had my favorite narrator. She was one of the few who could capture Gavroche. Do not be turned off by the length or the time commitment. You will be elevated. Soul put higher.

Magnificent

A grand Audible version of Victor Hugo’s literary, classic masterpiece, Les Miserables. I recommend highly!

The narration was excellent.

I enjoyed the history infused with the story line. It was amazing and I was sad when the story ended.

Not so miserable to read

This novel is vast and covers much time and subject matter. I would recommend the abridged version if you want just the love story and revolution without history and philosophical asides but in a sense these latter elements are what make this novel comparable to War and Peace, even though it is not quite as good as Tolstoy’s masterpiece.