Les Miserables
By Victor Hugo
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Reading level
Level ten:
Challenging adult literature
See more level ten books
Curriculum details
- Honors Literature and Writing 3
- Core curriculum
- Eleventh grade
- Aug 5, 2024 - Sep 27, 2024
- 50 credit hours
About
This is the longest novel in the Great Books Homeschool curriculum and is read over the course of two months. We believe it is well worth the effort, as it is one of the most powerful and uplifting works in literature.
The story, set in post-Napoleonic France, begins with Jean Valjean, a hardened criminal who is inspired by an act of kindness to turn his life around. He adopts an orphan girl, Cosette, who grows up and falls in love with one of the instigators of the July Revolution of 1830. Throughout the novel, the protagonists are pursued by Javert, a police inspector determined to return Valjean to jail.
The Norman Denny translation is one of the easier versions, and is the one recommended here. The unabridged work contains many long passages about topics like convent life and the Battle of Waterloo. It is fine to skip these and read only the parts that pertain to the story of the characters.
It's fun to supplement this with a viewing of the Broadway musical Les Miserables.