Les Miserables was the crowning literary achievement of Victor Hugo's career. An enormous melodrama set against the background of political upheaval in France following the rule of Napoleon I, the novel tells the story of the peasant Jean Valjean - unjustly imprisoned and hounded by his nemesis, the magnificently realized police detective, Javert.

Les Miserable is the story of Jean Valjean's transformation from criminal to hero, and his dedication to doing good in a world where harsh laws often thwart the most benevolent impulses. Imprisoned for nineteen years after stealing a loaf of bread to feed his sister's starving family, Valjean is on the path to becoming a repeat offender when a charitable bishop's act of pity compels him to become an honest man. Over the next two decades, Valjean becomes a successful businessman and a generous benefactor to his orphan ward, Cosette. But the implacable Inspector Javert, who knows of Valjean's criminal past and who enforces the law mercilessly, hounds him from town to town, seeking to apply a standard of justice that does not acknowledge either redemption or rehabilitation. A vivid historical romance whose events climax spectacularly during the Paris Uprising of 1832, Les Miserables was praised by Upton Sinclair as "one of the half-dozen greatest novels of the world." This unabridged edition of Victor Hugo's classic work is as stirring a tale of adventure today as it was when first published in 1862.Les Miserables is one of Barnes & Noble's Collectible Editions classics. Each volume features authoritative texts by the world's greatest authors in an exquisitely designed bonded-leather binding, with distinctive gilt edging and a silk-ribbon bookmark. Decorative, durable, and collectible, these books offer hours of pleasure to readers young and old and are an indispensable cornerstone for every home library.