Living in the pleasure-loving society of Napoleon III's France is a beautiful, capricious, good-natured yet noxious prostitute named Nana. For her, rich men give up their fortunes and honor; poor men give up their mates and even their lives.

The Masterpiece is the tragic story of Claude Lantier, an ambitious and talented young artist who has come from the provinces to conquer Paris but is conquered instead by the flaws of his own genius. Set in the 1860s and 1870s, it is the most autobiographical of the twenty novels in Zola's Rougon-Macquart series. It provides a unique insight into Zola's career as a writer and his relationship with Cezanne, a friend since their schooldays in Aix-en-Provence....

Les Miserables, or 'the wretched', is Victor Hugo's epic novel of redemption, sacrifice, love and suffering. It tells the story of ex-convict Jean Valjean, who has spent nineteen brutal years in chains after stealing a loaf of bread. Saved by an act of Christian charity, he is then offered a chance of happiness when he encounters the downtrodden Fantine and vows to rescue her daughter Cosette - but is constantly pursued by the implacable policeman...

"In Poland in 1891, Marie Curie (then Marya Sklodowska) was engaged to a budding mathematician, Kazimierz Zorawski. But when his mother insisted she was too poor and not good enough, he broke off the engagement. A heartbroken Marya left Poland for Paris, where she would attend the Sorbonne to study chemistry and physics. Eventually Marie Curie would go on to change the course of science forever and be the first woman to win a Nobel Prize. But what...

"Les Miserables is widely considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. First published in France in 1862, it is Victor Hugo's greatest achievement--the ultimate tale of redemption. Former prisoner Jean Valjean struggles to live virtuously after an unexpected act of forgiveness by a kindly bishop changes his life. His righteous actions change people's lives in surprising ways and culminate in romance between two young people. Now available...

In a new graphic novel adaptation, escaped convict Jean Valjean risks his freedom to take care of a motherless young girl during a period of political unrest in Paris while Inspector Javert relentlessly pursues him for a minor crime.