Les Miserables

Les Miserables is a French epic historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published on 31 March 1862, considered one of the greatest novels of the nineteenth century and popularized through numerous film, television and stage adaptations including a musical. Beginning in 1815 and culminating in the 1832 June Rebellion in Paris, the novel follows the lives and interactions of several characters, particularly the struggles of ex-convict Jean Valjean and his experience of redemption, examining the nature of law and grace while elaborating on the history of France, the architecture and urban design of Paris, politics, moral philosophy, antimonarchism, justice, religion, and romantic and familial love.