Victor Hugo<br /> Les Mis&#201;rables<br /> Translated by Charles E. Wilbour<br /> Abridged, edited and with an introduction by Paul B&#233;nichou <br /> Published simultaneously in nine languages in 1862, Les Mis&#233;Rables is a vast tapestry set against the chaos of post-Napoleonic France. A cast of hundreds is woven into the epic story of the ex-convict Jean Valjean and his valiant struggle to redeem himself. A potent social document of the poverty, ignorance, and brutality of man, Les Mis&#233;Rables is also a rousing adventure and a passionate parable of love. Here, Victor Hugo displays his skills as a dramatist and poet, and shows his deeply felt compassion for all mankind. <br /> Pocket Books' Enriched Classics present the great works of world literature enhanced for the contemporary reader. This edition of Les Mis&#233;Rables contains the original introduction by Hugo scholar and Harvard professor Paul B&#233;nichou, as well as his accomplished abridgment.