Les Misérables
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.
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Jean Valjean is paroled after nineteen years for stealing a loaf of bread. A bishop's kindness pushes him to remake his life. Inspector Javert tracks him for decades. Their stories meet on a Paris barricade in 1832.
Les Miserables is a 1862 novel by Victor Hugo. The famous stage musical, with music by Claude-Michel Schonberg, premiered in 1980. It became one of the longest-running musicals in history and was adapted into a 2012 film.
The 2012 film adapts the stage musical rather than the novel directly. Earlier non-musical adaptations (1935, 1958, 1998) are closer to Hugo but still cut significant material from the 1,500-page original.
Les Misérables was written by Victor Hugo, published in 1862 by WN.
Les Misérables is 520 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, Les Misérables takes most readers 8 to 11 hours to finish.
Les Misérables is a standalone novel by Victor Hugo, not part of a series.
Les Misérables is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.
