Jean Valjean

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Jean Valjean
Les Misérables character
Jean Valjean disguised as Monsieur Madeleine. Illustration by Gustave Brion.
Created by	Victor Hugo
In-universe information
Full name	Jean Valjean
Alias	Monsieur Madeleine Ultime Fauchelevent Urbain Fabre Prisoner 24601 Prisoner 9430
Nickname	Monsieur Leblanc
Gender	Male
Occupation	Tree pruner Convict Businessman Mayor of Montreuil-sur-Mer
Family	Jean Valjean Sr. (father) Jeanne Mathieu (mother) Jeanne (sister) Unnamed brother Seven unnamed nieces and nephews
Children	Cosette (surrogate daughter)
Relatives	Unnamed brother-in-law
Religion	Roman Catholic
Nationality	French
Born	1769
Death	1833 (aged 64)

Jean Valjean (French: [ʒɑ̃ val.ʒɑ̃]) is the protagonist of Victor Hugo's 1862 novel Les Misérables. The story depicts the character's struggle to lead a normal life and redeem himself after serving a 19-year-long prison sentence for stealing bread to feed his sister's starving children and attempting to escape from prison. Valjean is also known in the novel as Monsieur Madeleine, Ultime Fauchelevent (once called Tranchelevent by Monsieur Gillenormand), Monsieur Leblanc, and Urbain Fabre.

Jean Valjean and police Inspector Javert, who repeatedly encounters Valjean and attempts to return him to prison, have become archetypes in literary culture.