A new translation by Scot James Hogarth for the first unabridged English edition of the novel, which tells the story of an illiterate fisherman from the Channel Islands who must free a ship that has run aground in order to win the hand of the woman he loves, a shipowner's daughter.

James Hogarth was educated at Edinburgh University, and was later undersecretary in the Scottish Office.

Graham Robb's many books include Victor Hugo: A Biography, which won the 1997 Whitbread Biography Award.

This paperback original is a new translation of Hugo's great novel of the sea and includes comprehensive endnotes and Hugo's illustrations, which have never been reproduced in any edition of this monumental work.