Les Miserables - Book Two - Valjean
In Les Miserables, Victor Hugo assigned himself a formidable task - presenting a human drama against a political background - certainly not unique, but I believe, the most remarkable job in literature. Other novelists have done this and done it well - Charles Dickens comes to mind (A Tale of Two Cities) - but as a French writer, Hugo knows the historical and political landscape of France and assumes his readers will as well. As 21st century Americans, some of us may be a little fuzzy in this area - but if you're like me, you may prefer your history lessons this way :)
