Les Miserables

After Napoleon's defeat during the invasion of Russia in 1814 resulted in his removal from power, and in this power vacuum, parties loyal to the monarchy restored Louis the XVIII (younger brother of Louis XVI, who was guillotined in the revolution). Louis the XVIII did not wield the almost unlimited powers of his predecessors, however: France was governed under a limited constitutional monarchy. However, Louis XVIII's successor, Charles X, tries to restore the former glory of the monarchy and roll back the limited number of rights and protections so hard-won by the Revolution. The populace of France rises up and drives out Charles X in an event referred to as the July Revolution, which took place in 1830. In his place, the provisional government selects Charles' much more liberal cousin Louis-Philippe as king.