Victor Hugo

Set in the Parisian underworld and plotted like a detective story, Les Miserables follows Jean Valjean, originally an honest peasant, who has been imprisoned for 19 years for stealing a loaf of bread to feed his sister's starving family. A hardened criminal upon his release, he eventually reforms, becoming a successful industrialist and town mayor. Despite this, he is haunted by an impulsive former crime and is pursued relentlessly by the police inspector...

A favourite of readers for nearly 150 years, this stirring tale of crime, punishment, justice and redemption pulses with life. Hugo's epic novel sweeps readers from the French provinces to the back alleys of Paris, and from the battlefield of Waterloo to the bloody ramparts of Paris during the uprising of 1832.

Trying to forget his past and live an honest life, ex-convict Jean Valjean risks his freedom to take care of a motherless young girl during a period of political unrest in Paris.

In early 19th century France, a reformed ex-criminal finds himself threatened by people and events of his past.

In medieval Paris, Quasimodo, the hunchbacked bellringer of Notre Dame Cathedral, struggles to save the gypsy dancer Esmeralda from being unjustly executed. Illustrated notes throughout the text explain the historical background of the story.

A retelling, based on the film, of how Quasimodo, the hunchbacked bellringer of Notre Dame Cathedral in medieval Paris, saves the beautiful gypsy dancer Esmeralda from being unjustly executed.

Against the backdrop of France at a time of civil unrest, this is the story of Jean Valjean, a former convict unable to escape his past life. His future is threatened by his nemesis, the chilling prison guard Javert, who is determined to bring him to justice. As revolution ignites on the streets of Paris, Jean Valjean begins an epic journey towards self-acceptance, redemption, and love.

Pictures labeled in English and French introduce the characters found in Victor Hugo's classic "Les Misérables."