Les Misérables, written by Victor Hugo and published in 1862, is a sweeping epic set in nineteenth-century France. The novel follows Jean Valjean, an ex-convict imprisoned for nineteen years for stealing bread, who transforms his life after an act of compassion from a bishop. Relentlessly pursued by the rigid Inspector Javert, Valjean dedicates himself to redemption, rescuing the orphaned Cosette and becoming entangled in the Paris uprising of 1832. Interweaving stories of love, sacrifice, and injustice, Hugo explores themes of poverty, law versus grace, and human dignity, creating one of literature's most powerful portraits of the human spirit's capacity for change.
