Which classic novel is famously associated with both a very long sentence and a very short letter?
Question #77439. Asked by gmackematix.
Last updated Sep 16 2016.
toughynutter
Answer has 5 votes
Currently Best Answer
toughynutter 18 year member
303 replies
Answer has 5 votes.
Currently voted the best answer.
Les Miz
"Victor Hugo almost set the world’s record for short letter writing. A month or so after the octavo edition of Les Miserables was published he wrote to his publisher the following:
"Many people attribute the longest sentence in literature to Victor Hugo. The claim is that a sentence in Les Miserables, 823 words long, earns that title.
The source most often given for this, if a source is given, is Timothy Fullerton's Triviata: A Compendium of Useless Information, published in 1975.
Unfortunately, Fullerton was in error. At best, it is the longest sentence in French literature, though I can't confirm that.*"
Anyway, this sentence does seem to be outdone by an 847 word one in that notorious exercise in unnecessary verbosity, "La Recherche de Temps Perdu" by Marcel Proust.
This was the book that was returned by one publisher who could not understand why anyone needs thirty pages to describe someone turning over before going to sleep. The book was, of course, published with that passage uncut.
Response last updated by LadyNym on Sep 16 2016.
Mar 19 2007, 5:14 PM
queproblema
Answer has 4 votes
queproblema 19 year member
2119 replies
Answer has 4 votes.
We should also credit Hugo's publisher for his equally short reply: "!". (And nit-pickers can argue over the use and position of my final period.) http://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1526197