Les Miserables is set in Paris after the French Revolution. In the sewers and backstreets we encounter "the wolf-like tread of crime"', and
assassination for a few sous is all in a day's work. We weep with the unlucky and heart-broken Fantine, and we exult with the heroic revolutionaries of the barricades: but above all we thrill to the steadfast courage and nobility of soul of ex-convict Jean Valjean, always in danger from the relentless pursuit of the diabolical Inspector Javert.