Les Miserables

Immortalized by the countless television and film adaptations and the famous Broadway musical with its name, Les Miserables is said to be Hugo's most successful and telling work. Full of comments and calls to action about religion, the French government, moral philosophy, justice, corruption and more, most of the novel takes place in 19th-century Paris. The book itself is quite a statement. Divided into five volumes, each volume is separated into books and each book into chapters. With a total of 365 chapters and over 1,000 pages in most editions, Les Miserables is considered one of the longest novels of all time. The story follows the lives of various characters, but consistently refers back to Jean Valjean, an ex-convict who wants to bring good change to the world, but is forever haunted by his criminal past of stealing a loaf of bread to feed his seven starving nieces and nephews. The novel also follows compelling characters like Javert, a police inspector; Fantine, a Parisian girl abandoned with her infant daughter, Cosette; Marius, a baron who falls in love with Cosette; Gavroche, a young boy who is unloved by his father, and others whose stories create compelling moral dilemmas about class warfare, civil rights and justice. Les Miserables was written and published during Hugo’s exile, and the telegrams between the author and his publisher have become known as the shortest correspondence in history. After sending his manuscript, Hugo sent the single-character telegraph message: "?" to which his publisher replied: "!"