In Paris, the different parts sold out within hours' (Michaux). Everybody, all over the world, was reading the story of Jean Valjean, Fantine, Javert and Cosette.

By now, he was well aware of his worth and when his publisher Hetzel was unable to meet his demand of 300,000 francs, Hugo turned to the Belgian publishing house Lacroix and Verboeckhoven… It was an instant success and sales clearly showed that Hugo had managed to do something that no one had done before he had reached the masses with a work of serious fiction. 'It had taken Hugo 17 years to produce what would become his magnum opus and one of the most influential novels ever written. It anticipates Balzac in its realism, but in its flights of imagination and lyricism, its theme of redemption and its melding of myth and history, it is uniquely Hugo' (Dolbow, 149, 214). Despite its length, complexity and occasionally unbelievable plot and characterization, it remains a masterpiece of popular literature. Hugo's 'great novel has been hailed as a masterpiece of popular literature, an epic poem in prose about God, humanity and Hugo… Hugo hoped that Les Misérables would be one of if not the 'principal summits' of his body of works. $5500.Įarly Brussels edition, issued the same year as the first, of Hugo’s greatest work “and one of the most influential novels ever written.”

Small octavo, period-style three quarter blue morocco gilt, marbled boards. “A MASTERPIECE… AN EPIC POEM IN PROSE ABOUT GOD, HUMANITY AND HUGO”

Les miserables 1862