Les Misérables

Les Misérables is the greatest French popular novel, a vast and passionately humanitarian work that explores themes of social justice, mercy, and redemption through the intertwined fates of the ex-convict Jean Valjean, the implacable inspector Javert, and the wretched of nineteenth-century Paris. Victor Hugo created a novel of extraordinary emotional power and moral vision that transcends its historical setting to speak to universal questions of human dignity and compassion.

Published in 1862 during the reign of Napoleon III, while Hugo himself was living in political exile, Les Misérables addresses themes of justice, mercy, and poverty that profoundly shaped progressive political thought. The 1985 musical adaptation became the longest-running musical in the West End, and multiple film versions have brought the story to global audiences, cementing its place as one of the most beloved and influential novels in world literature.