Les Miserables read-a-long 2026 | Première Partie (1)

[AgualusasL0ver]

Welcome to the first thread of the Les Miserables Read-a-long.

I'll be using the Christine Donougher translation for posting in the main, but it doesn't matter which translation you have, they seem to follow the same breakdown. I have not seen the film, the musical, and have very little knowledge about the book, but suspect I will be doing all of these Christmas 2026.

The only rules
The plan is to read ONE chapter a day and contribute/follow the thread as you see fit. There are c. 365 chapters, so we plan to take the year to read slowly and really get under the skin. Sometimes we have clustered chapters in past read-a-longs, and people do sometimes read ahead. All fine - but No spoilers until the relevant day.

Notes from previous read-a-longs

• How you manage one a day is entirely up to you, some people prefer to store them and read all the chapters for the week at once, some read each day.
• Sometimes these books can go off on a tangent all their own (looking at Mr Tolstoy), stick with it :-)
• All formats and translations welcome. Sometimes the translation discussions are some of the most interesting conversations.
• You WILL get behind at some point, but don't worry, just catch up when you can.
• Tangents, things you discovered down a rabbit hole, articles, pod casts, clips of epic scenes when we get to them all very welcome on the thread.

Spoiler free summary , courtesy of Chat GPT below. Schmoop has book summaries so I will post those at the relevant points.

**

Les Misérables is a classic novel by Victor Hugo that explores justice, compassion, and the struggle for dignity in 19th-century France.
At its core, the book follows the lives of several interconnected characters from different social classes as they navigate poverty, law, love, and moral choice. Rather than focusing on a single hero or plotline, the novel paints a wide picture of society—showing how personal decisions are shaped by systems like the legal system, economic inequality, and social expectations.
Key themes include:

• Justice vs. mercy — how laws affect people differently, and whether strict punishment leads to fairness
• Redemption and moral growth — the possibility of change, even after hardship
• Poverty and inequality — the daily realities of people living on the margins
• Love and sacrifice — care for others as a powerful force for good
• Social responsibility — how individual actions impact the wider community

The novel is known for:

• Deep character development
• Emotional intensity
• Philosophical reflections on society and humanity
• Detailed descriptions of history and everyday life

Overall, Les Misérables is less about a single storyline and more about asking big questions:
What does it mean to be a good person? How should society treat its most vulnerable? And can compassion change lives?

Book 3 Schmoop

In the Year 1817

• Now we jump to Paris to look in on four young men who are about to play a "merry prank." Their names are Tholomyès, Listolier, Fameuil, and Blachevelle. And each of these men has a mistress. The mistress' names are Dahlia, Zéphine, Favourite, and Fantine.
• Fantine is still a teenager and the most naïve of the group, but her bae Tholomyès is almost thirty. This is going to end well.
• For the past few weeks, the women have been asking the men to plan a surprise for them, and Tholomyès, always the prankster, decides that this is a good time to drop the surprise on them. He and his three buddies leave the restaurant where they're all having dinner, telling the women they'll be back with the surprise soon.
• Eventually, someone comes to deliver a letter. It's from Tholomyès. The letter essentially says, "Surprise! We're bored with you ladies, and you're all dumped."
• The girls laugh with one another and agree that this is a funny prank. Lol!1!!
• Oops. But Fantine was truly in love with Tholomyès. And she's pregnant with his child.

Book 4 finishes today with The Lark

Potential spoiler if you have t read todays chapter yet

Schmoop for Book 4

To Trust is Sometimes to Surrender

• We look in on a town outside of Paris called Montfermeuil, which is totally real and still exists today. Now we find Fantine, who has given birth to a baby daughter and is living an incredibly harsh life.
• No one will give her work if they know she's an unmarried mother, so she stops while passing through Montfermeuil and asks a random mother whether she would consider taking care of her (Fantine's) daughter. After some financial haggling, they come to an agreement.
• Just like that, Fantine leaves her daughter with the Thénardiers. But don't expect a happy ending. They're are a pair of inn-keeping scoundrels who only look out for themselves and only agree to take Fantine's daughter because of the money.
• Two years go by, and, as you might expect the Thénardiers mistreat Fantine's daughter, whose real name is Euphrasie but whose her mother calls Cosette.

• Eventually, Fantine has trouble coming up with the money, so the Thénardiers put Cosette to work with totally age appropriate tasks like scrubbing the tavern floors at the age of five.
• Cosette becomes known locally as "the Lark," because she is small and birdlike (probably from malnutrition) and always up in the morning before anyone else.

Now for next week - I am now a few weeks behind, but have a quieter work week so hoping to catch up.

Monday 9 February: Part 1 - Fantine; Book 5 - The Descent; Chapter - 1 Story of an Advance in the Manufacture of Black Glass Jewellery

Tuesday 10 February: chapter 2 - Madeleine

Wednesday 11 February: chapter 3 - Sums Deposited with Laffitte

Thursday 12 February: chapter 4 - Monsieur Madeleine in Mourning

Friday 13 February: chapter 5 - Vague Glimmerings on the Horizon

Saturday 14 February: chapter 6 - Pere Fauchelevent

Sunday 15 February: Fauchelevent Becomes a Gardener in Paris

Thanks @AgualusasL0ver, this is so helpful when I lose track!

Thank you @AgualusasL0ver - I have been catching up yesterday and today.

So, when Fantine was referred to as innocent Hugo meant naive and trusting rather than virginal. Schmoop seems to have mad the same mistake as us in assuming Fantine was pregnant when the men left rather than having a young child. Not sorry to see the back of the "young gentleman" as I did not enjoy the chapters with them.

Fantine's decision to leave Cosette at the inn is perhaps more evidence of her naivety but I assume she was swayed by the fact the children looked well cared for and happy.

I can't believe Fantine has not been able to visit at all in two years - Cosette could have died and she wouldn't have known as they would have kept taking/asking for money.

Just going back a bit, I don’t Hugo was that tolerant of Tholomyès. The French is:

c’était un gros avoué de province, influent et riche, électeur sage et juré très sévère ; toujours homme de plaisir.

[he was a great provincial lawyer, influential and rich, a wise elector and a very severe juror ; always a man of pleasure]

I thought the use of gros to describe him as a lawyer is quite striking as while it can mean important (2nd meaning in Kindle dictionary), the 1st meaning (the one I would primarily associate with the word) is qui a beaucoup de volume ie fat. Kindle dictionary’s 3rd meaning is qui manque de délicatesse (someone who lacks delicacy). Hugo could have used the adjective grand instead (which I read as the usual one for great - and this is supported by Collins online giving this as the only translation for great) but he chose to use the one with the alternative pejorative meanings.

I also think the use of the semicolon indicates a contradiction in Tholomyès public and private life - righteous in his public life and a “man of pleasure” in private - ie a hypocrite.

I think it is important that Hugo tells us this as it shows that his life is unaffected by his affair with Fantine, whereas it changes the whole course of hers.

I also wondered if his surname was mean to evoke the Ptolemy family of Egyptian pharaohs (Cleopatra’s family) who were notorious for affairs & killing each other etc.

Naivety and desperation. Poor Fantine. I suppose back then they didn't have weekends and holiday allowances as we do, so getting time off to visit Cosette while also making enough money to send for her keep, and paying the letter writer etc.

Thanks for clarifying @SanFranBear 🙏 I had a quick google and apparently Hugo meant more of a generosity of spirit between the workers, amongst themselves, in terms of helping and supporting each other through tough times. Hugo believed workers were much more empathetic and generous than other classes.

Likewise, it would appear the bourgeoisie were respectably honest amongst themselves, rather than actually honest 🤣 They liked to appear respectable.

Thank you for making me ponder these points @SanFranBear I too was a bit baffled!

Thank you for posting the reading schedule @AgualusasL0ver It really helps!

Today’s chapter… More foreshadowing, jet is used to make mourning jewellery and rosaries. Grief and protection. Major themes in this novel.

I have to say, I do love the diversions from the plot to tell us important information about things, in this case, the imitation jet industry. Although, my recollection of it from reading it before must be skewed as I was expecting it to be several chapters long!

Oh the irony of Monsieur Madeleine’s judicial power in the office of a Mayor in France. 🤣

Also - I am thinking that Madeleine would qualify as one of the “deserving rich?” 🤣

I thought this jet manufacture thing was all a bit random but then I realised they use shellac/lac gum as a sealant like varnish on boats.

Got to give Hugo credit for his plots 🤣

Doesn't M. Madeleine remind us of somebody we encountered earlier in the book?!

I think so Fuzzy - waiting for a big reveal!

The timeline works too.....

it had better be! "no one had thought to ask him for his passport" would be a pretty blatant false little cloud if not 😀

He does remind us of someone we met earlier - not only is this Valjean, it’s Valjean trying his best to live like Myriel…

I'm thoroughly enjoying this read. The detail and connections between everything are quite astounding really. While some bits have been drawn out, I think that is our perception in the faster paced world of entertainment we live in.

Is it? I thought I was being fanciful thinking that but I'll be so SO pleased if it is... for some reason, I thought Jean Valjean remained a bit of a vagrant...

I can't normally catch up on a Wednesday so will do double duty tomorrow!

So… M. Madeleine keeps himself to himself, is a good shot, is educating himself, likes to go walking, has knowledge of insect repellents, knows countryside skills, can entertain children, seeks out the bereaved to comfort them, does anonymous good deeds, shows young women his bedroom only to prove it is a normal room, owns a couple of candlesticks and has wealth that is much gossiped about!

And Hugo tells us ‘books are cold and dependable friends’ 🤣

Think so! I thought the mention of the authorities not checking his passport was the clue that clinched it…

I loved today's chapter. M. Madeleine has done well for himself in every sense.

I was thinking (wishfully obviously) that wouldn’t it be nice if Monsieur Bienvenu got to hear what had happened to Valjean and the impact he had. Then he died.

Loving the Valjean/Madeleine development, it’s making me smile!

However, today’s chapter has irked me. How wonderful to be blind when you have a female slave there at your beck and call! How terribly fortunate!
I would love this rewritten from the sister’s viewpoint.

I am getting too caught up in this. Obviously a sign that I’m invested in the story though!