BooksRock.com - Kids Books At Amazing Low Prices!

Set in the Parisian underworld and plotted like a detective story, Les Mis rables follows Jean Valjean, originally an honest peasant, who has been imprisoned for nineteen 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 Javert.

Hugo describes early nineteenth-century France with a sweeping power that gives his novel epic stature. Among the most famous chapters are the account of the battle of Waterloo and Valjean's flight through the Paris sewers.

Victor Hugo (1802-1885) was a poet, novelist, dramatist, and leader of the romantic movement in France. He also played an active part in political life. His literary works best known in English include Les Miserables, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Ninety-Three.

Christopher Cazenove (1943-2010), one of England's finest actors, starred on stage and television in the United States and Great Britain. His motion-picture credits include A Knight's Tale, Eye of the Needle, Children of the Full Moon, and Jennie: Lady Randolph Churchill. He played Ben Carrington on television's Dynasty.