Les Miserables

Overview & Synopsis

Les Miserables is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published
in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the nineteenth
century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its
original French title, which can be translated from the French as The Miserables,
The Wretched, The Miserable Ones, The Poor Ones, The Wretched Poor, or The
Victims. The appearance of the novel was highly anticipated and advertised.
Critical reactions were very diverse, but most of them were negative.
Commercially, the work was a great success, not just in France, but also in the
rest of Europe and the world.