Introducing one of the most famous characters in literature, Jean Valjean--the noble peasant imprisoned for stealing a loaf of bread--"Les Miserables" ranks among the greatest novels of all time. In it, Victor Hugo takes readers deep into the Parisian underworld, immerses them in a battle between good and evil, and carries them to the barricades during the uprising of 1832 with a breathtaking realism that is unsurpassed in modern prose. Within his dramatic story are themes that capture the intellect and the emotions: crime and punishment, the relentless persecution of Valjean by Inspector Javert, the desperation of the prostitute Fantine, the amorality of the rogue Thenardier, and the universal desire to escape the prisons of our own minds. "Les Miserables "gave Victor Hugo a canvas upon which he portrayed his criticism of the French political and judicial systems, but the portrait that resulted is larger than life, epic in scope--an extravagant spectacle that dazzles the senses even as it touches the heart.
This Signet Classics edition is the ONLY completely unabridged paperback edition available today.
Translated by Lee Fahnestock and Norman Macafee, based on the classic nineteenth-century Charles E. Wilbour translation
With an Introduction by Lee Fahnestock
and a New Afterword

New Expanded Edition to Commemorate the 40th Anniversary of Robert Kennedy's 1968 Presidential Campaign. With 30 pages of new material."He was in many ways the greatest president we never had," writes Norman MacAfee in a new introduction to this revised edition of The Gospel According to RFK: Why It Matters Now . In the 81 days of his campaign, RFK outlined what seems today a redemptive vision for America: ending war and decreasing the gap between the races and classes, between rich and poor, black and brown and white. And then he was assassinated on June 5. But his words and thoughts and speeches remain to challenge and inspire. Included in The Gospel According to RFK are Kennedy's lengthy condemnation of war and his extraordinary, extemporaneous eulogy for Martin Luther King. Speeches new to this edition include"On the Mindless Menace of Violence" and Senator Edward Kennedy's eulogy for his brother at Saint Patrick's Cathedral. The Gospel According to RFK is filled with ideas that can be used to make a better world. It is for Democrats, liberals, independents, progressives and even some Republicans to read for inspiration and guidance. As Kennedy said,"Together we can make ourselves a nation that spends more on books than on bombs, more on hospitals than the terrible tools of war, more on decent houses than military aircraft."