Les Miserables cover art

Les Miserables

 Preview
Try Premium Plus free
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Les Miserables

By: Victor Hugo
Narrated by: Frederick Davidson
Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £16.99

Buy Now for £16.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

 Set in the Parisian underworld and plotted like a detective story, Les Miserables follows Jean Valjean, originally an honest peasant, who has been imprisoned for 19 years for stealing a loaf of bread to feed his sister's starving family. A hardened criminal upon his release, he eventually reforms, becoming a successful industrialist and town mayor. Despite this, he is haunted by an impulsive former crime and is pursued relentlessly by the police inspector Javert.

Hugo describes early 19th-century France with a sweeping power that gives his novel epic stature. Among the most famous chapters are the account of the battle of Waterloo and Valjean's flight through the Paris sewers.

(P)1996 Blackstone Audiobooks Classics Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Fiction France Thought-Provoking

Listeners also enjoyed...

 Dracula's Guest cover art
Vintage Vampire Stories cover art
The Hunchback of Notre Dame cover art
Les Misérables cover art
The Toilers of the Sea cover art
Carmen and Other Stories cover art
The Count of Monte Cristo (Dramatized) cover art
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Bram Stoker's Dracula, H. G. Wells' The Invisible Man cover art
Can Such Things Be? cover art
War and Peace cover art
A Tale of Two Cities cover art
Great Expectations cover art
The Brothers Karamazov [Naxos AudioBooks Edition] cover art
David Copperfield cover art
Jane Eyre cover art
The Count of Monte Cristo cover art

Critic reviews

"When I was 15, I was completely bowled over by Les Miserables. All my life long I have continually been discovering fresh aspects of Hugo's genius." (Andre Maurois)
All stars
Most relevant  
Since I have listened to every minute of the 57 hours of this book, I will make the following review the antithesis of the work itself:
'The most aptly named book in history, Hugo outdoes many great writers .....he is more prolix than Tolstoy and more didactic than Rousseau.
Fredrick Davidson's narration (with what sounds like excellent French) is annoyingly superior, which suits the subject matter perfectly'

Apt

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
After 56 hours, I feel I have spent a significant part of my life with this book.

I had seen the musical and wanted to know more so bought this audio book

Just like the series Lost, the story is great but didn't need as much padding but I am glad I didn't skip any I did feel really emotional at the end- a wonderful ending

When reading the prose, Frederick Davidson can be a bit grating and sound a bit pompous. However when he does the character voices, he comes into his own. The Thenardier is fabulously threathening, Javert sounds great, the women also, but it is really the children particularly Gavroche who sound fantastic. Hearing Frederick Douglas do the voice of Gavroche really breaks your heart.

Phew. Finished it :-)

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A labour of love both in writing, performing and as the listener.

Not for the faint of heart there’s so much going on and the stories are so intertwined. This book will have you weeping at the end.

My only criticism is the random seeming essays by Hugo which detracts from the story though clearly he was passionate about the subjects.

Incredible story of salvation and redemption

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I have taken a break from this book, to listen to other audiobooks but I may get back to it. It is a classic and anyone who has seen the musical or film will know the general story. But oh it is so long. There are long passages such as the battle of Waterloo, which serve to introduce a minor character or some anecdote that gives reason for someone's actions later in life.



I love all the passages that feature the main characters but some of the rest I'd gladly do without. I can safely say that I would never have read this book, for this reason audiobooks are perfect, for me, to listen to while I'm driving or in the gym. I may get back to this some day but for now I'm listening to something shorter and modern!



I was surprised at Frederick Davidson's narration at first and found his accent and deep voice a bit unusual but as the book progressed I quite enjoyed it and his voice characterisations are spot on!

Not finished with this book, yet!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would actually probally advise most people to read the abridged version if they are just interested in the book as a fictional story as I thought the writter had alot of un-needed description and historicle back ground included. I had 10 weeks off work so I went for it - un-abridged - whole version - Awesome Achievement!!!
Whether you have already watched the film or seen the stage production you really should read the book, its a gripping read.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Les Miserables?

Valjean leaves. Marius realizes Valjean saved his life. Marius and Cosette depart to find him. Valjean is dying in a local convent, Cosette and Marius rush in to bid farewell. Valjean hands Cosette a written confession of his past life telling her everything.

Which character – as performed by Frederick Davidson – was your favourite?

Valjean

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The End - Without giving too much away - I cried ;'(

This is a must read book!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Watch on stage read the book but listening to this was so interesting and spoken so clearly .

A joy to hear

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
At over 66 hours of listening, this is a lot of book for one credit. I was taking my 80 year old father to see the live show in London and wanted to get a handle on the story before we went - I was blown away by it - a huge story of an immense character, of love, loss, sacrifice, intrigue - you name it this book has it. I wasn't sure of the narrator at first, but soon grew to love his voice and it suited the story so well. I can't rate this book highly enough - but be prepared to have to put your life on hold while you immerse yourself in this truly astonishing novel.

It's what your ears have been waiting for.....

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Would you be willing to try another one of Frederick Davidson’s performances?

I will not try any more audiobooks narrated by Frederick Davidson if there are significant quantities of French involved. I speak French fluently having lived in France for 4 years, but I cannot understand more than one word out of three of his attempts at French. It's like listening to someone chewing tobacco while delivering a speech in Latin. He does fine for the most, the English language far outweighs the French in this production, but his French is abominable.

Shame about the Narrator

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
We were studying it & so this made me move on with it.

I loved the story. I knew - the films, the musical etc, but this ability to listen as I went, was perfect for me, thank you. .

A 5 🌟 Book!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This book took some time for me to get into, but it picked up as the storey unfolded. It is one of the longest books i have ever read and i enjoyed it despite its slow start.



I feel the narrater could have done a better job over all but this could be due to the length of the book.

Very slow to start

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews