The Literature Book

167

See also: Bleak House 14 6 – 49 ■ Oliver Twist 151 ■ Uncle Tom’s Cabin 153 ■

War and Peace 178–81 ■ Germinal 190 –91

DEPICTING REAL LIFE

Many other characters weave in

and out of his story: Marius, an

idealistic law student, who falls in

love with Cosette; the Thénardiers,

unscrupulous innkeepers, who

mistreat Cosette; their neglected

children, Gavroche and Éponine,

who live on the streets; and many

revolutionary students. All are

caught up in a hellish society that

Hugo vividly describes.

From time to time Hugo

digresses to write about related

topics, or to present his opinions.

He writes in detail about such

subjects as the Battle of Waterloo

(1815), street urchins, Parisian

architecture, the construction of

the Paris sewers, and religious

orders. Toward the end of the novel,

Hugo moves away from the action

at the barricades to reflect on the

role of revolution in creating a

better society, before returning to

the story and its conclusion.

Les Misérables was widely

advertised before publication and

caused a considerable stir: several

reviewers were critical, accusing

Hugo of being either dangerously

revolutionary or overly sentimental.

However, the book was an instant

success, not just in France but also

in Britain and beyond. Although it

did not directly bring about change,

its historical sweep and powerful

description of social injustice meant

that, like all great protest novels, it

provoked thought and helped to

raise social consciousness. ■

Les Misérables has a large cast of intertwining characters. Although

a mix of social classes is depicted, those whose wretched lives are

swallowed up in the labyrinth of Paris’s underworld are the focus. At the

heart of the book is the fate of Cosette, the orphaned child of a prostitute.

Inspector

Javert

Jean

Valjean

Cosette

Marius

Pontmercy

Enjolras

Fantine

Gavroche

Éponine

Monsieur

and Madame

Thénardier

Hunts down

Mistreat

Friend

Adores

Victor Hugo

Victor Hugo, one of France’s

leading writers, was born in

1802 in Besançon, eastern

France, the son of an officer

in Napoleon’s army. Raised in

Paris and well educated, by

the age of 20 he had published

his first volume of verse.

Hugo was a prodigious

writer, producing some 20

volumes of poetry, 10 plays,

nine novels, as well as many

essays. A liberal republican

and supporter of universal

suffrage, he was also active

politically. Following the

revolutions of 1848 that shook

Europe, he was elected to the

national assembly. He was,

however, highly critical of

the Second Empire of Louis

Napoleon and went into

exile in 1851 with his wife,

Adèle, and his long-standing

mistress, Juliette Drouet.

Returning to Paris as a

national hero in 1870, Hugo

became a senator in the Third

Republic. He died in 1885 and

was buried in the Pantheon.

Other key works

1827 Cromwell

1831 The Hunchback of

Notre-Dame

1859–83 The Legend of the

Ages

“Friends of ABC” revolutionaries

Neglected

children

Adopts Employs

In love Mother

Sibling

Street-urchin

revolutionary

Raised together

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