Report an issue
Tell us what's wrong and we'll take a look.
Thanks – we got it. We'll review and follow up if needed.
Satan and his Daughter, the Angel Liberty, drawn from this larger poem, tells the story of Satan and his daughter, the angel created by God from a feather left behind following his banishment. Hugo details Satan's fall, and through a despairing soliloquy, reveals him intent on revenge, yet desiring God's forgiveness. The angel Liberty, meanwhile, is presented by Hugo as the embodiment of good, working to convince her father to return to Heaven.
This new translation by Richard Skinner presents Hugo's verse in a unique prose approach to the poet's poignant work, and is accompanied by the Symbolist artist Odilon Redon's haunting illustrations. No adventurous reader will want to miss this beautiful mingling of the epic and familial, religious and political.
Richard Skinner
Translated by
Richard Skinner is the author of the novels The Red Dancer, Le gentleman de velours (shortlisted in France for the Prix Livres & Musiques) and The Darks. He has also written a writer's handbook entitled Fiction Writing (Hale).
For many years, Richard has been an Associate Tutor at Goldsmiths College, London, where he teaches on the MA Creative & Life Writing. He is Director of the Fiction Programme at the Faber Academy and a tutor on its six-month 'Writing a Novel' course.
Why Readwise Books?
Readwise Books is an ebook & audiobook platform that automatically logs how much you and your friends read, making it fun and easy to read more. Learn more →