Read this when
Les Misérables
Stole the silver, got handed the candlesticks too. Sometimes one act of mercy rewrites your whole story. 🕯️
Who it's for
Valjean's arc gives readers who carry a serious past a model of change that doesn't erase what happened: he is hunted by it, and has to choose honesty again and again.
Feelings it meets
What it is
Victor Hugo's 1862 novel, written during his exile on Guernsey, runs from 1815 to the 1832 June Rebellion in Paris. It follows the ex-convict Jean Valjean, whom an act of mercy by Bishop Myriel sets on a path of redemption under a new identity as a factory owner.
Where to find it
Public domain in the US (1862 French original and older translations such as Isabel Hapgood's, free on Project Gutenberg and Standard Ebooks). Modern translations in print and via libraries (Libby/Hoo.
Before you start
Heads up: A suicide and child exploitation.
Age: Ages 14+
I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.William Ernest Henley, “Invictus”
