Guernesey, sévère et douce, mon asile actuel, mon tombeau probable. (I dedicate this book to the rock of hospitality and liberty, to that portion of old Norman ground inhabited by the noble little nation of the sea, to the island of Guernsey, severe yet kind, my present asylum, my probable tomb.) Publishing history The novel was first published in Brussels in 1866 (Hugo was in exile from France). An English translation quickly appeared in New York later that year, under the title The Toilers of the Sea. A UK edition followed in 1887, with Ward Lock publishing Sir G Campbell's translation under the title Workers of the Sea followed by an 1896 Routledge edition under the title Toilers of the Sea. Hugo had originally intended his essay L'Archipel de la Manche (The Archipelago of the [English] Channel) as an introduction to this novel, although it was not published until 1883, and the two have only been published together in the 20th century. In 2002, Modern Library published an edition with a new translation by James Hogarth, which bills itself as "the first unabridged English edition of the novel". Film adaptations There have been at least five film adaptations of the novel, including: Toilers of the Sea (1914 film) – director unknown (silent) Toilers of the Sea (1915 film) – director unknown (silent) Toilers of the Sea (1923 film) – director Roy William Neill (silent) Toilers of the Sea (1936 film) – director Selwyn Jepson Sea Devils (1953 film) – director Raoul Walsh References External links Novels by Victor Hugo Novels set in the Channel Islands Guernsey culture 1866 French novels French novels adapted into films Books about cephalopods Nautical novels