When French poet and dramatist Victor Hugo (1802–1885) published Les Misérables in 1862, people across Paris and beyond lined up to buy the novel—a story that championed the poor and gave voice to redemption.

“Greater than the tread of mighty armies is an idea whose time has come,” Hugo wrote.

His inspirational tale followed Jean Valjean, a man imprisoned for stealing bread who found goodness and meaning through love and service.

“People do not lack strength; they lack will,” Hugo observed. His work reveals how the spirit rises from injustice and finds the quiet courage to endure, even when the heart is weary.

Hugo lived in voluntary exile on Guernsey during Napoleon III’s reign. When he died, millions lined the Champs-Élysées to pay tribute. He was buried in the Panthéon, a national hero who spoke the soul of the people.

“The guilty one is not he who commits the sin,” he said passionately, “but the one who causes the darkness.”

Like a whispered prayer, Les Misérables reveals that redemption is found not in thunder, but in the quiet acts of love and compassion. Hugo’s pages offer solace to every searching heart, and light the way home.