The lineage of Crime and Punishment (Prestupleniye i nakazaniye)

Following one thread, 3 works from Crime and Punishment (Prestupleniye i nakazaniye) to The Mysteries of Paris (Les Mystères de Paris). Back to all 27 works

1. 1862

   Les Misérables

   Victor Hugo

   Second Empire (written in exile). France / Guernsey. written in French.

   The convict Jean Valjean is redeemed by a bishop's mercy and pursued for decades by the policeman Javert.

   What it handed down

   To Crime and Punishment (Prestupleniye i nakazaniye) (1866)

   Thematic kinship, probable.

   Dostoevsky read Hugo's novel on its appearance in 1862 and esteemed it highly. Its story of a criminal redeemed through suffering and mercy, pursued by a tireless policeman, offers a template for Raskolnikov's arc and his duel with Porfiry.

   Where it came from

   • The Mysteries of Paris (Les Mystères de Paris), Eugène Sue 1842–43
   • The Last Day of a Condemned Man (Le Dernier Jour d'un condamné), Victor Hugo 1829 follow this thread

   Find “Les Misérables” on Amazon