This image is the cover for the book Les Misérables

Les Misérables

The novel that inspired the beloved Broadway musical: Jean Valjean’s immortal adventure among the dispossessed of nineteenth-century Paris.

Widely considered Victor Hugo’s masterpiece, Les Misérables is both an epic story and a penetrating social criticism of nineteenth-century France. In this tale of crime, punishment, love, and the pursuit of justice, we meet some of the most unforgettable characters in literature, including Jean Valjean, the heroic peasant arrested for stealing a loaf of bread; Cossette, the abused daughter of a prostitute; and Inspector Javert, the policeman who relentlessly hounds Valjean at every turn. With encyclopedic sweep, Hugo’s novel investigates topics ranging from the construction of Parisian sewers to the Battle of Waterloo.

First published in 1862, Les Misérables has inspired numerous film adaptions as well as the long-running stage musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg. It is, in the words of Upton Sinclair, “one of the half-dozen greatest novels in the world.”

This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.

Victor Hugo

Victor Hugo (1802–1885), born in Besançon, France, is widely considered one of the greatest French writers and influencers in the romantic literary movement. He rose to fame at a young age, having published his first collection of poetry at just twenty years old. As an avid activist against capital punishment, Hugo used his novels to reveal the injustices and hardships facing Parisians. He became active in politics and was elected the French Parliament, where he advocated against the death penalty. When Louis-Napoléon gained power over France in 1851, Hugo was deemed a traitor, and he fled to Brussels in exile. During this time, he wrote his most thought-provoking and searing works, many of which have been adapted into award-winning films and musicals, such as Les Misérables and The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
 

Open Road Media