The Les Misérables Reading Companion

Special Episode 03 - Even More Film Commentary!!

19 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We finish up the 2012 movie musical -- with watch-along commentary!!

Special Episode 02 - More Film Commentary!!

19 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We tackle the middle section of the 2012 movie musical. Watch along!

Ep60 - So what is Les Misérables about?

01 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We end this series by stepping back and thinking about this journey as a whole.

Episode 60 extras

01 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Here's some more information about Victor Hugo's Poor Children's Dinners. Now that we're "done" (we'll never be done) with Les Misérables, is there s...

Ep59 - V,9,v-vi - Endings

19 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Even the darkest night will end.....

Episode 59 extras

19 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Here's what the last page of the manuscript looks like:  (source) You can see here that Hugo originally had a different epitaph, which he crossed out...

Ep58 - V,9,iv - Change and Changers

18 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The more some people change, the more they stay the same. 

Episode 58 extras

18 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In addition to writing, Hugo could do other things with ink--here are some of his drawings, along with a bit of discussion of them.  

Ep57 - V,8,i - V,9,iii - Decline

14 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In which I offer explanation, but not comfort, at this sad turn of events.

Episod 57 extras

14 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Today, too, there's nothing in particular outside the text to send you to for further exploration. I think it's interesting that this starts to be the...

Ep56 - V,7 - Ash Wednesday

13 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

A day of confession and penance, deserved or not.

Episode 56 extras

13 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

No particular extras for this, but, if you watched the recent adaptation of Les Misérables on the BBC/PBS, you might be entertained to look back at m...

Programming Note, June 18, 2019

18 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

More delays, more excuses. But I hope it will be worth it. 

Ep55 - V,6 - Grief, Joy, and Masks

11 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Celebration, anguish, and how this all comes together at Mardi Gras.

Episode 55 extras

11 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Here's Juliette Drouet... ...in 1832: ...and in 1883: For more information about her -- and there's lots more that I didn't have time to include! --...

Ep54 - V,5 - Who are these people?

05 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Our characters are suddenly unrecognizable -- or are they?

Ep54 - V,5 - Who are these people?

05 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Our characters are suddenly unrecognizable -- or are they?

Episode 54 extras

05 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Just one extra tidbit today: the promised information about the corbeille de noces, or corbeille de mariage.  

Ep53 - V,4 - Derailed

28 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Javert joins the last group in the world that he wanted to join.

Episode 53 extras

28 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

I've added the location of Javert's reflection and his final moments to our Google map, in the Part V layer.  For those who are interested, the refer...

Les Misérables on PBS, episode 6, and comments on the series overall

26 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

As you may have noticed, it's taken me a minute to get my final thoughts on this miniseries adaptation of Les Misérables in order--there were a few r...

Ep52 - V,3,viii-xii - Memory Lane

21 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In which we get some surprising déjà vu....

Episode 52 extras

20 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

No particular extras today... but my final thoughts on Les Misérables on PBS will be along soon....

Les Misérables on PBS, episode 5

13 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

I think we all learned a lesson tonight: Hugo didn't know that cinema would be invented within a half-century of when he wrote Les Misérables, but he...

Les Misérables on PBS, episode 4

06 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

OK, so let's just get this out of the way: THERE IS NO BROTHEL SCENE IN LES MISÉRABLES. Also, Éponine is not in the business of free peep shows to t...

Ep51 - V,3,i-vii - The Soul in Muck

05 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Jean Valjean wrestles with what he finds beneath the streets.

Episode 51 extras

05 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Here's the 1830 map again for your convenience, if you'd like to try to locate Jean Valjean's approximate trajectory through the sewers. And the detai...

Les Misérables on PBS, episode 3

30 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Some themes seem to be emerging, as we're half way through the series.... Lily Collins continued to do amazing work tonight, and the headline, I think...

Les Misérables on PBS, episode 2

30 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

I was really interested in how HUMAN the Thénardiers were when we met them tonight. In the book making them monsters has its own advantages (and help...

Les Misérables on PBS, episode 1

30 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Opening at Waterloo, in a HUGE visual spectacle would be Hugo-approved. He saw Waterloo as an entryway into the novel, whereas a lot of adaptations (u...

On Adaptation

30 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

I'm going to be commenting on #LesMisPBS here for the next few weeks, so in preparation, I thought I'd say a few words about adaptation. People who li...

Programming Note, April 30, 2019

30 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In which I explain what the holdup is, and what you can do while you're waiting for me to get my act together.

Ep50 - V,2 - Human Waste

17 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

A whole new view of what's below Paris's streets. It's not pretty, but that's what's great about it.

Episode 50 extras

17 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

For more reading about Paris's sewers, consider David Pike's Subterranean Cities: The World beneath Paris and London, 1800–1945. (Cornell UP, 2005)...

Ep49 - V,1,xviii-xxiv - Apocalypse, and How to Escape It

02 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Friendship, rescue, and contemplating defeat, as the uprising comes to an end.

Episode 49 extras

02 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Nothing in particular in the way of informative extras today, so I'll give you just a taste of the vast fandom that Enjolras and Grantaire have online...

Episode 48 extras

19 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

I promised to once again link to the fable of The Wolf and the Dog, here, La Fontaine's version in French, which Hugo would likely have known best, an...

Ep48 - V,1,vi-xvii - Enclosed

19 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The perils of being trapped inside, and of getting out.

Episode 47 extras

05 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

If you want to learn more about 1848, and are a fan of this genre, I once again recommend the Revolutions podcast. Series 7 covers the Revolution(s) o...

Ep47 - V,1,i-v - Beyond the Barricade

05 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In which we're surprised to learn who might be on the other side of the barricade.

Episode 46 extras

19 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

If you're interested in learning more about the fascinating life of George Sand, this book is a good place to start. Or, for a shorter commitment, enc...

Ep46 - IV,14,vi - IV,15,iv - Jealousy and Sacrifice

19 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Jean Valjean can still surprise us.... or can he?

Episode 45 extras

05 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Just one extra to offer you today: here again are the Google map and the 1830 map, if you want to trace Marius's route to the barricade.

Ep45 - IV,13,i - IV,14,v - The Will to Die

05 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

What do our characters gain when they have nothing left to lose?

Ep44 - IV,12,i-viii - What Barricades are Made Of

23 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We continue to explore what goes into a barricade.

Episode 44 extras

23 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

First, some pictures of barricades. This page has a series of pictures of historical barricades built during various uprisings in Paris. It's a tradit...

Ep43 - IV,11,i-vi - How to Become a Revolutionary

08 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Gavroche and Mabeuf join the cause.

Episode 43 extras

08 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

A few different online treats for this week. First, this blog might be useful again for those interested in the geographical details of this section's...

Ep42 - IV,10,i-v - Paris Rising Up

11 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

All you'll need to know about the 1832 Paris Uprising.

Episode 42 extras

11 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Here is a link to a blog where you will find excellent and detailed map work on these sections of Les Misérables. And here is the promised 1830 map, ...

Episode 41 extras

27 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

No particular extras this week.  Instead, here's one of the zillions of renditions of the part of the musical that corresponds to the section of stor...

Ep41 - IV,8,vi - IV,9,iii - Harsh Realities

27 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Bliss meets reality.

Episode 40 extras

13 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

If you'd like to learn more about Éponine's song in this section, browse the complete works of Pierre-Jean Béranger. The lyrics are (of course) in...

Ep40 - IV,8,i-v - The Dangers Girls Face

13 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The perils and power of being a girl.

Ep39 - IV,7,i-iv - Argot

30 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

When you visit a place, it's only polite to try to learn a bit of the language....

Episode 39 extras

30 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Just one little extra for you this time: a map of France's regional languages:

Ep38 - IV,6,i-iii - Gavroche, Child of...?

16 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Gavroche teaches us a thing or two about fatherhood.

Episode 38 extras

16 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Here's our little buddy Gavroche, showing us around his world in the 2012 movie musical. I've put a couple of places from this section (l'Orme-Saint-G...

Ep37 - IV,4,i - IV,5,vi - Connection

02 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Our characters reach across the barriers that separate them.

Episode 37 extras

02 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Just one link for the extras today: to Blaise Pascal's Pensées, in French and in English.

Episode 36 extras

25 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

We mentioned the chaining of the convicts at Bicêtre here again, so I will again link to Le Dernier Jour d'un condamné (The Last Day of a Condemned ...

Ep36 - IV,3,vi-viii - Love and War

25 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

All is not fair.

Episode 35 extras

18 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

All we have in extras again today is maps: our Google map, with the three new houses on it, and maps from 1823 and 1830 to compare it to.

Ep35 - IV,3,i-v - Roses and Gardens

18 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Places where we do, and don't, want to see roses.

Episode 34 extras

11 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Since we've mentioned The Sorrow of Young Werther again, here is a link to the text in English. And we have a few new places on our Google map, many o...

Ep34 - IV,2,i-iv - Demons and Goblins

11 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

What can we make of the fallout from the ambush?

Ep33 - IV,1,i-vi - Threshold

04 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

An overview of the July Revolution, and some other bit-picture stuff.

Episode 33 extras

04 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Linking again to our Google map, now with a Part 4 layer containing a marker in the area of the faubourg Saint-Antoine. This neighborhood is labeled ...

Ep32 - III,8,xvi-xxii - Dilemmas

30 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Tricky moral questions abound.

Episode 32 extras

30 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Nothing in particular for the extras this week, but here's a picture of Marius looking in on his neighbors, from the 1958 adaptation by Jean-Paul Le C...

Ep31 - III,8,v-xv - Judas

21 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Love, theatrics, and betrayal in the Gorbeau house.

Episode 31 extras

21 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Here are the chapters of Notre-Dame de Paris (1831) that first brought us Hugo's spider metaphor, in French and in English (here and here). The locati...

Ep30 - III,7,i - III,8,iv - Miners' Tools

07 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

We explore miners and their tools, and how they fit into Les Misérables.

Episode 30 extras

07 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Here's my most excellent illustration of the various ways the novel visualizes the world below. (Sorry.)    And here are a couple of examples of en...

Episode 29 extras

31 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

All of the drama between Marius and Cosette in this section takes place in the Luxembourg gardens. This will not be the last time we see this spot eit...

Ep29 - III,6,i-ix - Love Story?

31 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

So... what's a teen crush doing in here?

Ep28 - III,5,i-vi - Parallel Lives

17 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The descent into poverty is a familiar one.

Episode 28 extras

17 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

I've added the locations of Mabeuf's two main residences mentioned here to our Google map. And here are links to a trailer and a clip of the French fi...

Ep27 - III,4,i-vi - Landscapes and Horizons

10 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Marius's horizons expand, and we try to get a sense of the new world he has entered.

Episode 27 extras

10 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Lots of politics today, a subject that it's hard not to distort when simplifying or summarizing. I prioritized what you need to know for Les Misérabl...

Ep26 - III,3,iv-viii - His Father's Son

03 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Marius begins to understand who he is.

Episode 26 extras

03 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Not a ton in the way of visual extras today, but perhaps you'd like to peruse what Marius was reading? Here's an idea of what Le Moniteur would have l...

Ep25 - III,2,i - III,3,iii - Generations

26 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Another child atrophies in another kind of darkness.

Episode 25 extras

26 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

First, a bit of extra info about Gillenormand... I mentioned that he was mis-costumed in the 2012 movie; the novel says that he had kept the style of ...

Ep24 - III,1,i-xiii - Child of Paris, Child of Misère

19 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

We meet fan-favorite Gavroche and the gamin de Paris, the character type that he doesn't quite exemplify.

Episode 24 extras

19 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Here's a pen and ink drawing of Gavroche, drawn by Victor Hugo himself. The writing at the bottom says "Gavroche, at 11 years old."   I've added Gav...

Ep23 - II,8,v-ix - Death and Other Happy Endings

12 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Les Misérables moonlights as a sort of macabre sitcom.

Episode 23 extras

12 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Here, once again, is the Google map of Paris, with the Vaugirard cemetery added. And here again is the 1823 map to compare it to.   And, as promised,...

Special Episode 01 extras

01 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Here is a video of Colm Wilkinson (whom we just saw as the Bishop), performing Jean Valjean's soliloquy "Bring Him Home" from later in the show. As fo...

Special Episode 01 - Film Commentary!!

01 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

I try my hand at live commentary on the 2012 movie-musical adaptation of Les Misérables.

Episode 22 extras

22 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Once again this week, no particular multimedia extras. Episode 23 will come with some cool stuff though--stay tuned! The podcast (and I) will be on va...

Ep22 - II,8,i-iv - Strange Echoes

22 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

A few things are familiar in this strange new place.

Ep21 - II,7,i-viii - Life in Parentheses

15 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

We decipher Hugo's complex position on Jean Valjean's latest hideout.

Episode 21 extras

15 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

No particular extras for this week's episode, but I did mention in passing the Preface to Cromwell, linked to most recently in episode 20's extras......

Ep20 - II,6,i-xi - Cloistered

08 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

We discuss Hugo's take on life inside his fictional convent.

Episode 20 extras

08 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

I mentioned Chateaubriand's René; here it is in French and in English. Another famous example of the convent as a place of retreat from the rigors of...

Ep19 - II,4,v - II,5,x - Mysteries

01 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Will our hero escape the clutches of the police? And what kind of strange place will his safe haven turn out to be? 

Episode 19 extras

01 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

This section put a bunch of new places on our Google map, and will make it especially useful, I think, to look at the 1823 map. Here is a link to the ...

Ep18 - II,3,ix - II,4,iv - The Two Forçats

24 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Two kindred souls finally find each other.

Episode 18 extras

24 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Today's extras are heavily geographical: Here, once again, is our Google map, now with layers organized by section in the text, to make it a bit easie...