Books with title 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.

It has been said that Victor Hugo has a street named after him in virtually every town in France. A major reason for the singular celebrity of this most popular and versatile of the great French writers is Les Misérables (1862). In this story of the trials of the peasant Jean Valjean—a man unjustly imprisoned, baffled by destiny, and hounded by his nemesis, the magnificently realized, ambiguously malevolent police detective Javert—Hugo achieves the sort of rare imaginative resonance that allows a work of art to transcend its genre.Les Misérables is at once a tense thriller that contains one of the most compelling chase scenes in all literature, an epic portrayal of the nineteenth-century French citizenry, and a vital drama—highly particularized and poetic in its rendition but universal in its implications—of the redemption of one human being.

The only completely unabridged paperback edition of Victor Hugo's masterpiece—a sweeping tale of love, loss, valor, and passion. Introducing one of the most famous characters in literature, Jean Valjean—the noble peasant imprisoned for stealing a loaf of bread—Les Misérables ranks among the greatest novels of all time. In it, Victor Hugo takes readers deep into the Parisian underworld, immerses them in a battle between good and evil, and carries them to the barricades during the uprising of 1832 with a breathtaking realism that is unsurpassed in modern prose. Within his dramatic story are themes that capture the intellect and the emotions: crime and punishment, the relentless persecution of Valjean by Inspector Javert, the desperation of the prostitute Fantine, the amorality of the rogue Thénardier, and the universal desire to escape the prisons of our own minds. Les Misérables gave Victor Hugo a canvas upon which he portrayed his criticism of the French political and judicial systems, but the portrait that resulted is larger than life, epic in scope—an extravagant spectacle that dazzles the senses even as it touches the heart.

"He was no longer Jean Valjean, but No. 24601"Victor Hugo’s tale of injustice, heroism and love follows the fortunes of Jean Valjean, an escaped convict determined to put his criminal past behind him. But his attempts to become a respected member of the community are constantly put under threat: by his own conscience, when, owing to a case of mistaken identity, another man is arrested in his place; and by the relentless investigations of the dogged policeman Javert. It is not simply for himself that Valjean must stay free, however, for he has sworn to protect the baby daughter of Fantine, driven to prostitution by poverty. A compelling and compassionate view of the victims of early nineteenth-century French society, Les Misérables is a novel on an epic scale, moving inexorably from the eve of the battle of Waterloo to the July Revolution of 1830. Norman Denny’s introduction to his lively English translation discusses Hugo’s political and artistic aims in writing Les Misérables.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

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A thrilling tale of narrow escapes, romance in the midst of a revolution, and battlefield heroism, Victor Hugo's sprawling 1862 novel focuses on the Parisian underworld. Ex-convict Jean Valjean, who served 19 years in prison for stealing bread, attempts to redeem his life by helping the downtrodden. But his every move is dogged by the implacable policeman, Inspector Javert, whose relentless pursuit of a reformed criminal reflects a morally empty state that values retribution rather than justice.One of the first modern novels, Les Misérables took the unprecedented step of featuring a working-class hero and examining society's role in fostering crime and criminal behavior. Its portrait of altruism in the face of misery, poverty, and injustice is memorable for its vivid characterizations and its gripping plot, which unfolds in the manner of a detective story. An instant success around the world upon its initial publication, the book has inspired countless dramatic adaptations, including one of the world's longest-running musicals, and is routinely ranked among the top 100 novels of all time.