The novel traces the life of Jean-Valjean, a 19th century Parisan peasant who steals a loaf of bread to feed his starving children, and thereby becomes criminalized as a convict. This story of how he struggles to escape his past and reaffirm his humanity, in a world brutalized by poverty and ignorance, has become a powerful social document and the gospel of the poor and the oppressed.

Modern Library, c. 1960.
1222 pp.
Translated by Charles E. Wilbour.
Series: Modern Library Giant 3.
Hardcover. Very good in a very good jacket.
Minor chips in edge of jacket, small scuff to jacket spine.
Owner's sig. and bookseller's sticker to front free endpaper.