Translated by Julie Rose
Introduction by Adam Gopnik In this major new rendition by the acclaimed translator Julie Rose, Victor Hugo’s
Les Misérables is revealed in its full, unabridged glory. A favorite of readers for nearly 150 years, this stirring tale of crime, punishment, justice, and redemption pulses with life. Featuring such unforgettable characters as the quintessential prisoner of conscience Jean Valjean, the relentless police detective Javert, and the tragic prostitute Fantine and her innocent daughter, Cosette, Hugo’s epic novel sweeps readers from the French provinces to the back alleys of Paris, and from the battlefield of Waterloo to the bloody ramparts of Paris during the uprising of 1832. With an Introduction by Adam Gopnik, this Modern Library edition is an outstanding translation of a masterpiece that continues to astonish and entertain readers around the world.
"Julie Rose has returned all the detail [to "Les Miserables"], making a language that is rich and gorgeous. This is the [translation] to read."
--Jeanette Winterson, "The Times" (London)
Julie Rose's powerful new translation of "Les Miserables"--the first major unabridged translation in thirty years--pulses with energy, bringing remarkable clarity and depth to Hugo's masterpiece about Jean Valjean the ex-con, the relentless police detective Javert, the tragic prostitute Fantine, and her innocent daughter Cosette. Sweeping readers from French provinces and battlefields to the back alleys of Paris, Hugo's "magnificent story . . . [is] marvelously captured in this new unabridged translation by Julie Rose" ("The Denver Post").
“A new translation by Julie Rose of Hugo’s behemoth classic that is as racy and current and utterly arresting as it should be.”
—The Buffalo News (editor’s choice)
“Lively, dramatic, and wonderfully readable.”
—Alison Lurie, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Foreign Affairs “Splendid . . . The magnificent story [is] marvelously captured in this new unabridged translation.”
—Denver Post
“Rich and gorgeous. This is the [translation] to read. . . . If you are flying, just carry it under your arm as you board, or better still, rebook your holiday and go by train, slowly, page by page.”
—Jeanette Winterson, The Times, London 
