Les Miserables - Vintage Classics Author:Victor Hugo On one level Les Miserables is a detective story in which the relentless Inspector Javert obsessively pursues the escaped convict Jean Valjean. On another level, it is a drama of crime, punishment and rehabilitation set against a panoramic description of French society after Napoleon. But above all, Hugo’s masterpiece is about the metap... more »hysical struggle between good and evil in the soul of every man. It is a plea for social justice, political enlightenment and personal charity.