The Les Misérables Reading Companion
Activity Overview
Episode publication activity over the past year
Episodes
Ep17 - II,3,iv-viii - People You Might Meet in the Woods
17 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We look more deeply into another of the novel's most famous scenes.
Episode 17 extras
17 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Here are a few examples of artists' interpretations of Cosette with her pail. There are LOTS more images of Cosette here; the page is in French, and a...
Ep16 - II,2,i - II,3,iii - Fate, Hope, and Spiders
10 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Caught in the web of fate, what reason is there for hope?
Episode 16 extras
10 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
For those who might be interested in old sailing warships here is a bit more information about the Orion. And if you'd like to read the section of Not...
Ep15 - II,1,i-xix - Waterloo
03 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We think about just what, exactly, this long digression about Waterloo is doing in this book.
Episode 15 extras
03 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Congratulations! It looks as though Part II book 1 was not your "Waterloo!" (Sorry, I had to.) Here again is the map, to which I've added the location...
Ep14 - I,8,i-v - Meeting God
27 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Divine encounters come in many forms.
Episode 14 extras
27 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Nothing in particular for the extras today, so I thought I'd share links to some other folks who are reading and talking about Les Misérables online ...
Ep13 - I,7,ix-xi - Forming Convictions
20 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Our hero's dilemma finds resolution in a strangely familiar place.
Episode 13 extras
20 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Here are the promised links to Jean Racine's Phèdre: in French and in English translation. The "action" scene I mention is Act V, scene 6. One can u...
Ep12 - I,7,v-viii - On a Horse, With No Name
13 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We discuss horse-drawn travel, our hero's anonymity, and his final agonizing moments of indecision.
Episode 12 extras
13 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Here and here are links to pages with more information about horse-drawn vehicles, for those who might be curious. The first one is in French, but i...
Ep11 - I,7,i-iv - The Truth About Madeleine
06 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We watch Jean Valjean ask "Who am I?" and two special guests chip in some thoughts about his dream.
Episode 11 extras
06 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Here are links to the full text of Pierre Corneille's Le Cid (in French and in English); I compare Jean Valjean's deliberation in I,7,iii to Rodrigue...
Ep10 - I,5,xii - I,6,ii - Heroism and Complicity
27 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The men around Fantine are both heroic and.... less so. And Hugo is as well.
Episode 10 extras
27 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Here is the original story (in French) that is considered the origin of Fantine. An English version begins on page 42 of this ebook. And, it also see...
Ep09 - I,5,v-xi - Predators and Prey
20 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We talk about humans behaving like animals, and worse, as we meet Javert, and discuss Fantine's "descent."
Episode 09 extras
20 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Because what's the Internet without cat pictures? Auguste Vacquerie, family friend and brother of Hugo's late son-in-law, was an early adopter of the...
Ep08 - I,4,i - I,5,iv - New Misérables
13 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We leave a lot unsaid, for now, as we add some new characters to our cast.
Episode 08 extras
13 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Here is the map I've started with locations from our reading marked. As we add locations, I'll put them on this map, and re-post this link in the rele...
Ep07 - I,3,i-ix - First Illusions
06 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We meet Fantine, and get an up-close look at the year 1817.
Episode 07 extras
06 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In 1895, 10 years after Hugo's death, Edmond Biré undertook to explain the chapter "L'année 1817"/"The Year 1817" line by line. Here is the result. ...
Ep06 - I,2,x-xiii - The Bishop's Real Work
30 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We explore the famous scene(s) that will change Jean Valjean's life.
Episode 06 extras
30 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
This episode didn't contain specific references to anything in particular that needs elaboration here. The only exception might be that I made quite...
Ep05 - I,2,vi-ix - Understanding Despair
23 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We consider our first glimpse behind the veil, into Jean Valjean's mind.
Episode 05 extras
23 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Here is a picture of a galère or galley, as they operated between the 15th and 18th centuries in the French fleet in the Mediterranean. The rowing ...
Ep04 - I,2,i-v - How to Feed the Body and Soul
16 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We meet Jean Valjean, as he arrives in Digne and first encounters the Bishop.
Episode 04 extras
16 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Some items I mentioned in episode 04, for your further reading and exploration: More about Napoleon's Hundred Days, including the Golfe-Juan Proclamat...
Ep03 - I,1,x - xiv - The Bishop, Builder of Bridges
09 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We look at the various ways in which the Bishop spans cultural and political divides.
Episode 03 extras
09 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
As promised, some resources for learning more about the French Revolution: A brief audio file series that hits the highlights, while remaining quite ...
Episode 02 extras
03 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Here are links to some things I mention in Episode 02: Historical currency converter The Preface to Hugo's 1827 play Cromwell, which is also considere...
Episode 01 extras
02 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Victor Hugo, around the time of the publication of Les Misérables Manuscript for the Preface that we discuss in episode 01. The portion added...
Ep02 - I,1,i - ix - Why a Bishop?
02 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We start our reading of the novel by thinking about the Bishop of Digne, and why Hugo spends so much time on him to start the novel.
Ep01 - Preface²
02 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
An introductory episode, where I tell you a bit about my plans for this podcast, and then we turn to Hugo's brief preface to his long novel.