Victor Hugo wrote this wonderful story while living in exile on the island of Guernsey, which is where the adventure unfolds. Set in the early 1800s, The Toilers of the Sea tells off a young reclusive fisherman who falls dangerously in love with a beautiful island girl. Her uncle, himself an intrepid seafarer, is the owner of a paddle-steamer, which plies its trade to and from St. Malo on the coast of Brittany. The vessel is wrecked on a remote reef in suspicious circumstances, and our brave young fisherman sets out alone to salvage the all-important machinery, the steam engine itself. If he succeeds, he will return home to the promised hand of the girl he daren't even talk to.

Like his contemporary, Charles Dickens, Victor Hugo paints boldly on a huge canvas. His characters are compelling and colorful. Through them, he explores the values and the morality of his times. In this novel, he pits them not only against each other and their hard circumstances, but also against the elements themselves in the rough and rocky seas of the "Norman Archipelago".

Patrick Dickson has intelligently abridged this terrific novel focusing on the drama of the adventure and the plight of its characters. Like Hugo, he spent 15 years of his life on the island of Guernsey, and he brings a unique sensibility to the storytelling. He is an actor with extensive narrating experience. This is his first self-produced audiobook.