Les Misérables (1862) (edit title/settings)

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• Jean Valjean: This character is a multi-layered character, and he always seems to have some sort of trouble with society. After he was forgiven by the Bishop, he started to understand that God wasn't angry with him, and he turned his life around.
• Jean Valjean: The main character, who was convicted to nineteen years in prison for stealing a loaf of bread, he is rejected by society for being a former convict. After encountering the Bishop of Digne he turns his life around and starts life anew. But it is hard for the convict to hide from the past that is snapping at his heels in the form of Javert, police inspector.
• Javert: Inspector of police, he pursues Jean Valjean through out the book. He does not believe that one can achieve redemption after committing a crime.
• Monseigneur Charles François-Bienvenu Myriel: Or, Bishop Myriel, or, M. Myriel. The Bishop of Digne who shows Jean Valjean mercy and convinces him to rethink his life and become a better man.
• Marius: loves Cosette
• M. Javert: The small town policeman who was a prison warden to Jean Valjean
• Madame Magloire: Add a description of this character.
• Jean Vatican
• Champmathieu
• Simplice
• Little Gervais
• M. Le Maire
• Mlle
• Tholomyes
• Fantine: A beautiful women who was abandoned with her daughter Cosette by her lover. She would do anything to help her daughter... even if it destroyed her own life.
• Dahlia
• Marguerite
• Father Madeleine
• Montfermeil
• Mademoiselle
• Chenildieu
• Monsieur Le Maire
• Baptistine
• Champmathien
• Fleming
• Blachevelle
• Napoleon
• Cosette: Fantine's daughter, she is abused by the Thénardiers and knows nothing but punishment and abuse. She gets rescued by Jean Valjean and becomes his adoptive daughter.
• Monsieur Thénardier: M. Thénardier is a corrupt innkeeper in a small village called Montfermeil, entrusted with Cosette by her failing mother.
• Madame Thénardier: Madame Thénardier is a large, greedy women who loves her two daughters Azelma and Eponine, but neglects her three sons, Gavroche and the two unnamed sons. She treats Cosette extremely poorly and abuses her on a daily bases.
• Marius Pontmercy: The young man who leaves his grandfather's house to live in poverty because his father died and made him a baron which made his grandfather (Gillanormande) mad at him. He later falls head over heels in love.The son of Georges Pontmercy, a colonel in Napoléon’s army. Marius grows up in the home of his grandfather, M. Gillenormand, a monarchist. Marius has an identity crisis when he learns the real reason for his separation from his father, and this crisis sets him on the path to discovering himself. An innocent young man, Marius is nonetheless capable of great things and manages both to fight on the barricades and successfully court the love of his life, Cosette.
• Eponine: The poor, eldest child of the Thenardier's. When the wealth ran out, she was forced by her father to find other criminal ways to get money for the family. Despite her ragged appearance, she was quite a beauty and even knew how to write one sentence: "The police are here." She fell in love with her neighbor, Marius and was dismayed when he continually sought out another woman.
• Enjolras and the Friends of the ABC: A group of students who are organizing a revolution. They are led by Enjolras, who is described as being angelically beautiful and is extremely devoted to democracy, equality and justice... Joining him are Courfeyrac, Combeferre, Jean Prouvaire, Feuilly, Bahorel, Laigle (nicknamed Bossuet), Joly and Grantaire.
• Monsieur Madeleine: A well-loved mayor with renowned strength and humility, but with a deep secret...
• Gavroche: The Thénardiers’ oldest son. Gavroche is kicked out of the house at an early age and becomes a Parisian street urchin. He is a happy-go-lucky child who enjoys the small pleasures of life and demonstrates unusual generosity toward those even less fortunate than he is. He is also fierce and brave, and plays a decisive role in the barricade even though he does not have a gun.
• M. Gillenormand: Crusty reactionary old coot turns to silly old geezer when he gets his grandson Marius back. He is curt and believed to be stone-hearted, but really he loves his grandson with all of his heart
• Jondrette: Alias used by Monsieur Thernardier in Paris
• Toussaint: Madam servant living with Jean Valjean
• M. Fauchelevent: Jean Valjean saves the life of Father Fauchelevent when the latter is trapped under a sinking cart. He in turn helps the Valjean by letting him stay as his brother in the Petite Picpus convent as he hides from the police.
• Monsieur Pontmercy: Marius' dead father who believes to have been saved by Thenardier.
• Petit Gervais: A small boy whom Valjean robs shortly after leaving Digne. It is considered an armed robbery because he shook his cane at the boy. Shortly after, Valjean tries in vain to find the boy and return the money.
• Ursula: The supposed name of Cosette, used by Marius when he picks up Valjean's handkerchief which had his alias initials embroidered 'U.F.'

Quotes edit see section history

• “You look at a star for two reasons, because it is luminous and because it is impenetrable”

• “An unworthy thought can no more spring up in it than a nettle on a glacier”

• “The soul helps the body, and at certain moments uplifts it. It is the only bird which sustains its cage.”

• “To owe life to a malefactor . . . to be, in spite of himself, on a level with a fugitive from justice . . . to betray society in order to be true to his own conscience; that all these absurdities . . . should accumulate on himself—this is what prostrated him.”

• “She worked to live; then, also to live, for the heart too has its hunger, she loved.”

• “There is one spectacle grander than the sea, that is the sky; there is one spectacle grander than the sky, this is the interior of the soul.”

• “Diamonds are found only in the dark places of the earth; truths are found only in the depths of thought.”

• “Children at once accept joy and happiness with quick familiarity, being themselves naturally all happiness and joy.”

• “Laughter is sunshine; it chases winter from the human face.”

• “The delight we inspire in others has this enchanting peculiarity that, far from being diminished like every other reflection, it returns to us more radiant than ever.”

• “I declare I am confused!”

  Cosette

• ““Here, I am going to write something to show you.”. . . <S>he wrote on a sheet of blank paper . . . “The cops are here.””

  This snippet describes Eponine’s excitement in Book Eight of “Marius” as she tries to impress Marius at the Gorbeau House.

• “<Valjean> had fallen back, the light from the candlesticks fell across him; his white face looked up toward heaven, he let Cosette and Marius cover his hands with kisses; he was dead.”

  This passage, from Book Nine of “Jean Valjean” brings Valjean’s personal journey full circle and compares him to his inspiration, Myriel, the bishop of Digne.

• “&lt;T&gt;he poor little despairing thing could not help crying: “Oh my God! Oh God!”At that moment she suddenly felt that the weight of the bucket was gone. A hand, which seemed enormous to her, had just caught the handle, and was carrying it easily. . . .. . . The child was not afraid.”

  This passage occurs in Book Three of “Cosette,” after Mme. Thénardier orders Cosette to fetch a pail of water from the forest. Hugo uses especially melodramatic language and imagery to underscore the nightmarish quality of Cosette’s life with the Thénardiers and the almost divine appearance of Valjean.

• “<Valjean> strained his eyes in the distance and called out . . . “Petit Gervais! . . .” His cries died away into the mist, without even awaking an echo. . . . <H>is knees suddenly bent under him, as if an invisible power suddenly overwhelmed him with the weight of his bad conscience; he fell exhausted . . . and cried out, “I’m such a miserable man!””

  Valjean’s encounter with Petit Gervais in Book Two of “Fantine” is the first interaction Valjean has after he leaves Myriel’s house in Digne.

• “So long as ignorance and misery remain on earth, books like this cannot be useless.”

  Victor Hugo

• “Books are cold but sure friends.”

  Victor Hugo

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• FREE Audio Book Download: Volume 1[http://librivox.org/les-miserables-vol-1-by-victor-hugo/]

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• The guillotine is the concretion of the law; it is called vindicte; it is not neutral, and it does not permit you to remain neutral. He who sees it shivers with the most mysterious of shivers. All social problems erect their interrogation point around this chopping-knife. The scaffold is a vision. The scaffold is not a piece of carpentry; the scaffold is not a machine; the scaffold is not an inert bit of mechanism constructed of wood, iron and cords.

  Highlighted by 3 Kindle customers

Setting & Locations edit see section history

• Digne, France: or, Digne-les-Bains. Where the novel begins. Home of the Bishop Myriel and where Jean Valjean begins to turn his life around.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digne-les-Bains
• Paris: Digne
• Monseigneur
• Arras
• Heaven
• Toulon
• France
• Providence
• Faverolles
• Waterloo
• Paris, France

First Sentence edit see section history

Table of Contents edit see section history

Glossary edit see section history

• Sinite parvulos: Suffer the little children

Series & Lists edit see section history

Preceded by Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Preceded by The Cruel Sea, and followed by The Mayor of Casterbridge.

Preceded by Uncle Tom's Cabin, and followed by On the Road.

Preceded by The Water-Babies, and followed by Fathers and Sons.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Victor Hugo (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Awards edit see section history

• BBC's Big Read (April 2003, #114)

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: Add the Library of Congress Classification.
• Dewey: 791.447

Notes for Parents edit see section history

While there is very limited coarse language, the sheer bulk and topics covered would only be recommended for 13+. Unrequited love, the rebellions in France, the thieving and French underworld... all very well covered topics, but quite dense.

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Literature & Fiction › Authors, A-Z › ( H ) › Hugo, Victor
• Books › Literature & Fiction › History & Criticism › Criticism & Theory
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Genre Fiction › Historical
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Literary
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Classics
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Classics

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

• Project Gutenberg: Free e-book, full text
• Librivox: Free audio book

Movie Connections edit see section history

• Les Miserables (IMDb): 1995
• Les Miserables (IMDb): 1998

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