Les Miserables is not only superb adventure but a powerful social document. The story of how the convict Jean-Valjean struggled to escape his past and reaffirm his humanity, in a world brutalized by poverty and ignorance, became the gospel of the poor and the oppressed.

From the Paperback edition

Related Links:

Les Miserables  by Victor Hugo - Online-literature

Les Miserables  by Victor Hugo - Cliffsnotes

Les Miserables  by Victor Hugo - alalettre( french version)