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 Misérables. 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 Misérables which was adapted into one of the most successful musicals
of all time. 'All human life is here'Cameron Mackintosh producer of the musical Les
Misérables'One of the half-dozen greatest novels of the world'Upton Sinclair'A great writer -
inventive witty sly innovatory' A. S. Byatt author of Possession
