Les Miserables

by Victor Hugo

Book Overview

"He was no longer Jean Valjean, but No. 24601" 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 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. A compelling and compassionate view of the victims of early nineteenth-century French society , Les Mis rables is a novel on an epic scale, moving inexorably from the eve of the battle of Waterloo to the July Revolution of 1830. Norman Denny's introduction to his lively English translation discusses Hugo's political and artistic aims in writing Les Mis rables . For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0140444300
• ISBN13: 9780140444308
• Release Date: April 1982
• Publisher: Penguin Books
• Length: 1231 Pages
• Weight: 1.52 lbs.
• Dimensions: 2.1" x 5.1" x 7.8"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Inspiring

Arrived quickly and in good quality; one of the most lovely pieces of literature ever written. Unabridged copy.

Excellent

When I bought this book, I had already read the full version of Les Miserables- Which is AMAZING, by the way. This version cuts out the descriptions of both the covent and Waterloo which rather improved it. Those parts are still very good writing; but when I want to find out what happens next to Jean Valjean and Cosette and instead I get 100 pages telling me about this convent, well, It gets a tad frusterating. Especially since you can't tell whether it's important or not. (and believe me, it isn't.) So, those cuts were good. However, I was very disapointed at the cut of a lot of Marius's love letter to Cosette. The editors kept a few lines, but it loses the flow and beauty of the original letter. Yes, I know the letter was four pages to begin with, but I still think that it's worth reading. On the whole, this version is worth buying, as the story isn't hurt at all by the cuts. But the original version is still worth reading.

Long but worth the read

I have had the CD of the Original London Cast Musical of Les Miserable for about 10 years and have been a huge fan but nothing could prepare me for the book which although a long and hard read, is the most amazing book I have ever read. Everyone has something to learn from it and if you are looking for a reason to read it heres a reason: in the words of the great Victor Hugo himself : "As long as ignorance and misery remain on earth, books like this can never be useless."

Worth every minute, every page, every accolade it gets

Bar none, Les Mis is the BEST book I have ever read. I don't usually like very descriptive writers (i.e. Thomas Hardy), but even the in-depth writing of the French Revolution kept me glued. I carried this book with me everywhere and read every minute I could. I truly felt Valjean's emotions through Hugo's writing, and I was rooting for Marius and Cosette even though I already knew the story! The best book ever written.

A nice companion to "The story of Miss Saigon..."

At times this lovely book gets a little slow, but the more than sufficient cast photos and full libretto make up for the lacking of quantity...I only wish Eddie had written this one after "The Concert." The comments would have been limitless. Did we HEAR Lea Salonga? Genius...pure genius.