The heartwarming, true story about the transformative power of love and good works, nurtured in the home of Victor Hugo, author of Les Misérables.

Guernsey, Channel Islands, 1860

At the marketplace, a five-year-old girl is carrying a baby and crying, hungry for food. She is just one of the many needy children in the streets, and Adèle Hugo, wife of author Victor Hugo, is moved to make a difference. Victor is equally determined. Two years later, convinced that a good meal is what the children need, Victor and Adèle begin inviting them to the Hugo mansion for weekly dinners.

That first year culminates with a Christmas feast for up to forty children as well as parents and guests. It’s a wondrous gathering of the human family, promoting friendship among people from all walks of life. For seven more years—week in, week out—children and adults come to the mansion, eager to take part in dinners that will inspire the world to love.

This timeless, true story with beautiful illustrations will inspire young hearts to be inclusive, to embrace empathy, and to do good works, especially during the holidays. Victor Hugo’s Wondrous Feast teaches that “to love is to act” and reminds us that it only takes one person to make a difference.