Released after nineteen years in prison with hard labour for stealing a loaf of bread, Jean Valjean is turned away everywhere, until the evening a bishop takes him in. Now a changed man living under a false name, he takes in little Cosette, mistreated by the Thénardiers, and brings her up in hiding. Inspector Javert, for his part, does not believe a convict can change.
Around them, Victor Hugo brings a whole century back to life, right up to the barricades of Paris. One of his characters even became a word in French: a cheeky Paris street urchin is still called a “gavroche”.
With the translation always in front of you, you can read this great classic in the language you are learning.
