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?

He and his wife are so horrible aren’t they! Frustrating that Valjean was so trusting and free with his money, instead of going straight off to get Cosette. And it looks like his time is running out thanks to Javert 🙁

Next week

Part 1 - Fantine
Book 6 - Javert

• Monday 23 February: chapter 2, How Jean May Become Champ
• Tuesday 24 February: Book 7 - Champmathieu Affair | ch 1, Soeur Simplice
• Wednesday 25 February: ch 2, Maitre Scaufflaire’s Shrewdness
• Thursday 26 February: ch 3, A Storm in Mind
• Fridat 27 February: ch 4, Forms That Suffering Takes in Sleep
• Saturday 28 February: Spokes in the Wheels
• Sunday 29 February: Soeur Simplice Is Put to the Test

Well that’s not what I was expecting from today’s chapter! He’s going to go and do the right thing again, isn’t he?

He's going to do the right thing again and Fantine will run out of time :(
Yes, that was unexpected!

REPORTED MY POST as I dont think it is accurate and may contain spoilers. Sorry Team.

I saw nothing! By the way, I'm only guessing what might happen next.

Yes, very unexpected but....

I don't think he is going to do the right thing... I mean, his huge change in character means he should but i don't know that he will as he's basically going to be able to remove any and all suspicion from himself.

But, as you can probably tell from previous comments, I'm not always convinced the 'good' people are actually good underneath and Jean Valjean was a bit of a scoundrel 😁

It’s a cliff hanger!

As an aside today I listened to an old Radio 3 documentary about Hugo, which described the writing process for Les Mis. Very interesting indeed but I can’t post it as it does have some spoilers. I will try to remember when we reach the point in the book (about 1/3 they said) and then we will be able to discuss it.

The presenter did annoy me a bit though as she was very breathless about « discovering » all the history rather than just telling the bloody story.

You made me laugh with that comment @DuPainDuVinDuFromage 🤣 I imagined it said in a tired sing song type tone 🤣

Is it in the musical? Anyone know?

🎵🎶 He's going to do the right thing again, isn't he? 🎵🎶

Longer chapter today. JV certainly kept his cool with Javert as he waffled on.

The physiognomy stuff gets a bit distracting, knowing as we do that it was entirely discredited many, many years ago. For Hugo it was still a science.

Going back to Fantine, I read today that Hugo actually saw a man put snow down a woman’s dress in real life and went to the police station to go on the record as a witness. Like Fantine, the woman had fought back but Hugo had seen that it was the man that had started it.

So a real incident appears to be the inspiration for that scene.

(It was risky for Hugo’s reputation to speak up for the woman. She may have been a prostitute and his motivation would have been questioned. Apparently only 3 days earlier he became a member of the ‘Académie Française’)

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

To the tune of ‘Do you hear the people sing…’

🎵🎶 “Well he’s doing, the right thing,
Saving the fate of unlucky men,
It is the music of a man
who won’t be dishonest ever again’🎶🎵

Bit forced but I can’t concentrate as my husband is playing guitar badly next to me atm 🤣

That’s exactly how I was thinking it 😄

I'm on track again having had to read a few chapters to catch up.

Hugo led me to believe that Javert might be merciful to Fantine because all the decision-making lay with him but I forgot the type of man he was....

Then I thought that it was all over for Fantine when he sentenced her to six months.

Now I worry for M Madeleine.

Really enjoying this!

lol @Neitherherenorthere that would have been an interesting version! @FuzzyCaoraDhubh the bit about someone else being mistaken for Jean Val Jean doesn’t get a song. Fantine being sucked into prostitution and then being saved by JVJ does, the song is called Lovely Ladies and is terribly bleak to a jaunty tune. Obvs a very deliberate juxtaposition.

Thank you, @Pashazade. 'Lovely Ladies' does sound like a bleak contrast between their past and present lives. Hugo points out that Fantine is still beautiful, however.

The only upside to that cruel act was that Fantine met Maire Madeleine.

The Radio 3 doc explained a bit about Hugo’s private life (no spoilers) leading up to the writing of Les Mis.

He and his wife had four children at which point she decided she didn’t want any more babies (fair enough) so they stopped sleeping together. He started seeing his life long mistress Juliette Drouet (almost a second wife really). His wife Adele did have a long liaison with someone else (famous, I forget who). (I wonder if she figured out contraception?) Hugo (being a massive womaniser) also at the same time took up with the wife of one of his friends, who was a well known artist. The wife was called Léonie, I think. The artist sort of put up with it for a while but it became apparent that his wife was actually in love with Hugo, at which point he reported them to the police, as at that time adultery was an arrestable offence. The police caught them in flagrante and Léonie actually went to prison. Can you imagine? There was a type of prison for women who had sex outside marriage, and prostitutes.

Needless to say, Hugo did not go to prison. He was a Peer of France, sitting in their upper house, and was thus immune from prosecution. He was told by his friends to lie low and not speak to the press because it was a big scandal. Apparently he felt very guilty.

He came out of this period of hiding by making a big speech in parliament about poverty - « La misère » - and it was around this time that he started writing the book (mid 1840s).

The documentary didn’t mention what happened to Léonie after that.

I’m glad Fantine is being cared for by Soeur Simplice. I feel all calm just thinking about her and I’m not really religious 🤣

I only speak a little French but I read that Hugo has played around with JVJ’s name.

The name Madeleine has an association in French with reformed prostitutes because of Mary Magdalene in the bible (Marie Madeleine).

Also, the word ‘Maire’ to mean ‘Mayor’ sounds like the French ‘Mere’ meaning ‘Mother.’

Before that the Maire/Mayor was ‘Père’ Madeleine. ‘Père’ being French for father.

And this is all happening in Montreuil-sur-Mer. (Pronounced like a female horse - mare). Mer is French for sea. The town is called Montreuil-on-Sea, but it’s actually not on the coast!

So JVJ has these associations with his name that link to Fantine.

Hugo is on top of every detail in this novel! 🤯

That’s fascinating @Neitherherenorthere ! My main takeaway from yesterday’s chapter was that it felt just right reading about nuns as I’m also in the middle of reading Conclave - had to remind myself it was a different book 😄

@DuPainDuVinDuFromage the documentary on iPlayer about choosing the next pope was very good.

I did think that when we were talking about whether Valjean was responsible for Fantine losing her job, Madeleine would have been an odd name to choose for someone very judgmental about women.

Also, just catching up again - the part where Fantine loses her teeth is horrific. I made the mistake of reading it late at night & had to close my Kindle as it was so awful (although that didn’t stop me reopening my Kindle a few minutes later to find out what happened next). Hugo is so good at changing the tone at different points in the book, which is one reason why it is such a engrossing book to read.

The chapter with the snow was very vivid - with Fantine parading, then the snowball and fight, followed by Fantine’s desperation after her arrest. I also noticed the link Hugo made between the snowball thrower and Tholomyès.

Good work @Benvenuto 👏👏👏 We don’t want to lose you!😊

Yes, I’m haunted by the teeth incident….