Jean Valjean est vivant. Comme vivent Javert, Gavroche, Thenardier, Marius et Cosette. Ils sont entres dans le pantheon de l'esprit humain et sont devenus nos familiers. Pendant soixante ans, Victor Hugo a muri ce feuilleton sublime, cette epopee geante de candeur et de generosite populaire, sans doute l'oeuvre la plus lue dans le monde. Quand parait la premiere partie des Miserables, en 1862, Hugo ecrit : "Ce livre, c'est le siecle, c'est un vaste miroir refletant le genre humain. Maintenant, je peux mourir." Cet ouvrage, c'est la reponse de la bonte et de la pitie au crime et au mensonge. Son editeur l'avait prevenu : lorsque les epreuves sortaient de presse, les correcteurs, bouleverses, pleuraient.

Jean Valjean est vivant. Comme vivent Javert, Gavroche, Thenardier, Marius et Cosette. Ils sont entres dans le pantheon de l'esprit humain et sont devenus nos familiers. Pendant soixante ans, Victor Hugo a muri ce feuilleton sublime, cette epopee geante de candeur et de generosite populaire, sans doute l'oeuvre la plus lue dans le monde. Quand parait la premiere partie des Miserables, en 1862, Hugo ecrit : "Ce livre, c'est le siecle, c'est un vaste miroir refletant le genre humain. Maintenant, je peux mourir." Cet ouvrage, c'est la reponse de la bonte et de la pitie au crime et au mensonge. Son editeur l'avait prevenu : lorsque les epreuves sortaient de presse, les correcteurs, bouleverses, pleuraient.

Bien sur, vous connaissez Gavroche, le petit Parisien, avec ses mains enfoncees dans les poches d'un pantalon trop grand, sa gouaille et ses chansons ! Son image familiere est devenue un symbole de la ville qui l'abrite : Paris. Mais c'est dans le roman de Victor Hugo, Les Miserables, qu'il a commence a battre le pave. Gamin de la rue abandonne mais volant au secours des opprimes, meprise mais joyeux, insolent mais sensible, il est l'un des personnages les plus attachants de la litterature francaise. A travers le destin tragique de cette "petite grande ame", Victor Hugo plaide la cause de tous les enfants malheureux. Des extraits annotes relatant l'epopee de Gavroche ; Des questionnaires au fil du texte ; Des documents iconographiques exploites ; Une presentation de Victor Hugo et de son epoque ; Un apercu du genre du roman ; Un groupement de textes : "L'enfance malheureuse".

Jean Valjean is free at last after nineteen years in prison. Cold and hungry, he is rejected by everyone he meets. But Jean's life is changed forever when he discovers love. He spends the rest of his life helping people, like himself, who have been victims of poverty and social injustice - 'les miserables'. Retold by Chris Rice.

Les Miserables is a magnificent, sweeping story of revolution, love and the will to survive set amidst the poverty stricken streets of nineteeth-century Paris. Part of the Macmillan Collector's Library; a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket sized classics with gold foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. This edition has features an introduction by Paul Bailey. Escaped convict Jean Valjean turns his back on his criminal past to build his fortunes as an honest man. He takes in abandoned orphan Cosette and raises her as his own daughter. But Jean Valjean is unable to free himself from his previous life and is pursued to the end by ruthless policeman Javert. As Cosette grows up, young idealist Marius catches a glimpse of her and falls desperately in love. The fates of all the characters await them during the violent turmoil of the June Rebellion in 1832. This abridged version of Victor Hugo's masterpiece was published in 1915 with the aim to provide 'a unified story of the life and soul-struggles of Jean Valjean'.

Les Miserables is a novel peopled by colourful characters from the nineteenth-century Parisian underworld; the street children, the prostitutes and the criminals. In telling the story of escaped convict Jean Valjean, and his efforts to reform his ways and care for the little orphan girl he rescues from a life of cruelty, Victor Hugo drew attention to the plight of the poor and oppressed. Sensational, dramatic, packed with rich excitement and filled with the sweep and violence of human passions, Les Miserables is one of the greatest stories ever told.

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.

A brilliant modern translation by Christine Donougher of Victor Hugo's thrilling masterpiece, with an introduction by Robert Tombs. This is the best translation of the novel available in English, as recommended by David Bellos in The Novel of the Century. 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, 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.

Where there is love, there is hope. Accompanying a 6-part series on BBC One from the makers of War and Peace, and starring Dominic West, Lily Collins, David Oyelowo and Olivia Coleman, this edition of Les Miserables also has a foreword from screenwriter Andrew Davies (War and Peace, Pride and Prejudice). Les Miserables is Victor Hugo's classic tale of injustice, heroism and love following the fortunes of Jean Valjean, an escaped convict determined to put his criminal past behind him. Those attempts are constantly put under threat: by his own conscience, and by the relentless investigations of the dogged policeman Javert. A compelling and compassionate view of the victims of early nineteenth-century French society, this is a novel on an epic scale, moving from the Battle of Waterloo to the the June rebellion of 1832. With striking intensity and relevance to us today, it is testimony to the struggles of France's underclass.

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 Inspector 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. Norman Denny's lively English translation is accompanied by an introduction discussing Hugo's political and artistic aims in writing Les Miserables. Victor Hugo (1802-85) wrote volumes of criticism, dramas, satirical verse and political journalism but is best remembered for his novels, especially Notre-Dame de Paris (also known as The Hunchback of Notre-Dame) and Les Miserables, which was adapted into one of the most successful musicals of all time.

Tolstoy is said to have called Les Miserables the greatest novel ever written, and it exerted a powerful influence on the creation of War and Peace. At one level a detective story in which the relentless Inspector Javert obsessively pursues the escaped convict Jean Valjean, culminating in a dramatic chase through the sewers of Paris, at another level Hugo's masterpiece is a drama of crime, punishment and rehabilitation set against a panoramic description of French society in the years after Napoleon's fall from power. But this book is also about the metaphysical struggle between good and evil in the soul of every man and every community. Coloured by Hugo's distinctive philosophy, it is a plea for social justice, political enlightenment and personal charity which continues to speak with the undiminished authority more than a century after its first appearance.

“The guilty one is not he who commits the sin, but he who causes the darkness.” “So long as ignorance and poverty exist on earth, books of the nature of Les Miserables cannot fail to be of use,” says Victor Hugo in the preface of his famous novel. Certainly, Les Miserables is French history recounted through the personal stories of its main characters. The tale offers philosophical insight on the good deeds that can happen even amidst ignorance and poverty. This handsome leather-bound volume is a beautiful addition to any classic literature library with specially designed endpapers, gilded edges, and a ribbon bookmark so you will never lose your place.

One of the great Classics of Western Literature, Les Miserables is a magisterial work which is rich in both character portrayal and meticulous historical description. Characters such as the absurdly criminalised Valjean, the street urchin Gavroche, the rascal Thenardier, the implacable detective Javert, and the pitiful figure of the prostitute Fantine and her daughter Cosette, have entered the pantheon of literary dramatis personae.

One of the great classics of western literature, Les Miserables is a magisterial work which is rich in both character portrayal and meticulous historical description. Characters such as the absurdly criminalised Valjean, the street urchin Gavroche, the rascal Thenardier, the implacable detective Javert, and the pitiful figure of the prostitute Fantine and her daughter Cosette, have entered the pantheon of literary dramatis personae. The reader is also treated to the unforgettable descriptions of the Battle of Waterloo and Valjean’s flight through the Paris sewers.

Ce livre est un livre de charite, c’est-a-dire un livre fait pour exciter, pour provoquer l’esprit de charite, c’est un livre d’une nature terrible et navrante, disant a la conscience du lecteur : « Eh bien ? Qu’en pensez-vous ? Que concluez-vous ? » Les Miserables sont un etourdissant rappel a l’ordre d’une societe trop amoureuse d’elle-meme et trop peu soucieuse de l’immortelle loi de fraternite, un plaidoyer pour les Miserables (ceux qui souffrent de la misere et que la misere deshonore), profere par la bouche la plus eloquente de ce temps. Le nouveau livre de Victor Hugo doit etre le Bienvenu (comme l’eveque dont il raconte la victorieuse charite), le livre a applaudir, le livre a remercier. N’est-il pas utile que de temps a autre le poete, le philosophe prennent un peu le Bonheur egoiste aux cheveux, et lui disent, en lui secouant le mu?e dans le sang et l’ordure : « Vois ton ?uvre et bois ton ?uvre » ? Charles Baudelaire. Presentation et notes de Guy Rosa. Commentaires de Nicole Savy.

Bien sur vous connaissez Gavroche, le petit Parisien, avec ses mains enfoncees dans les poches d’un pantalon trop grand, sa gouaille et ses chansons ! Son image familiere est devenue un symbole de la ville qui l’abrite : Paris. Mais c’est dans le roman de Victor Hugo, Les Miserables, qu’il a commence a battre le pave. Gamin de la rue abandonne mais volant au secours des opprimes, meprise mais joyeux, insolent mais sensible, il est l’un des personnages les plus attachants de la litterature francaise. A travers le destin tragique de cette « petite grande ame », Victor Hugo plaide la cause de tous les enfants malheureux. Des extraits annotes relatant l’epopee de Gavroche Des questionnaires au fil du texte Des documents iconographiques exploites Une presentation de Victor Hugo et de son epoque Un apercu du genre du roman Un groupement de textes : « L’enfance malheureuse »