Les Misérables

About the book

Jean Valjean exits a French prison after nineteen years of hard labor, a sentence triggered by stealing bread for his family. Following a bishop’s act of mercy, Valjean adopts a new identity and becomes a successful factory owner. He eventually assumes custody of Cosette, the daughter of a dying factory worker named Fantine. Throughout several decades, Inspector Javert pursues Valjean across Paris, driven by a strict adherence to legal code. Their lives intersect with a group of student revolutionaries during the 1832 June Rebellion, where the narrative focuses on poverty, penal law, and the struggle for personal change.

Readers interested in the intersection of legal history and social morality value this text for its granular detail on 19th-century French society. Historical fiction enthusiasts find specific accounts of convent life, the Battle of Waterloo, and the Parisian sewer tunnels. The book provides a meditation on the conflict between rigid civic law and individual mercy. One walks away with a clear understanding of the systemic forces trap the working class and the difficulty of escaping a criminal past.

Details

Published

1862

Publisher

Penguin

ISBN

9780451525260

Language

EN