LES MISERABLES: Unofficial sequels

Prequels and sequels

Notre Dame de Paris by Victor Hugo

Hugo wrote many books and poems, but is universally famous for just two works: Les Miserables and Notre Dame de Paris (commonly called the Hunchback of Notre Dame). They can be seen as two sides of the same coin: a love affair with Paris and the people of France. One book is the epic of French history, the other is the epic of the birth of modern France, both told through the lives of ordinary people.

"Ninety Three" by Victor Hugo

This could be called a prequel to Les Miserables. It does not feature any of the same characters, but it tells of a major event that is mentioned several times in the book: the Great Terror of 1793. 1793 in the reason why the people of Paris did not all support Enjolras and Marius in 1832 - they knew where it might lead.

The other books on this page are unauthorized sequels.

"Pont-Au-Change, Book One: Resurrections" by Arlene Harris

Judging by the reviews, this may be the best of the sequels. Perhaps because it does not come with the publicity of the other sequels, so people come with no expectations and are pleasantly surprised. Or perhaps because the author uses a different and unusual approach - it is not just a straight continuation of Hugo's novel. Readers praise Pont-Au-Change for capturing the spirit and the research of the original. It seems to me that these books are from someone who truly loves the originals, and is not just trying to make a buck from the success of the musical. Judge for yourself.

"Pont-Au-Change, Book Two: Sanctuary" by Arlene Harris

Just as the original was written in several parts, so is Harris' work.

"Pont-Au-Change, Book Three: Adrift" by Arlene Harris

The latest installment is part mystery novel. There are more installments on their way: visit pontauchange.com for the latest news.

Les Misérables was originally released in seventeen parts, which readers could then bind into five (or in the picture on this page, eight) volumes. Now it's commonly sold as a single book, or in two parts at most.

Read a facsimile of the French original here. A complete English translation is available from Project Gutenberg, or can be bought from any good book store.

Hugo planned the book as early as the 1830s. An early draft from 1840 already had the structure of the book, in four parts: Story of a Saint, Story of a Man, Story of a Woman and Story of a Doll. The characters were inspired by real people: Valjean and Javert were based on François Vidocq, the criminal-turned-police who became the first chief of the Sûreté. Bishop Myriel was based on bishop Miollis who had accepted the convict Pierre Maurin just like Myriel received Valjean. Marius was Hugo himself. At first the book was called Jean Tréjean, then Les Misères, then Les Misèrables

The first edition (1862) sold out within hours in Paris, and was reprinted in all the major cities of Europe. Some philosophers said the book had dangerous ideas, and the Pope placed it on the list of banned books. But ordinary people loved it, and its ideas of justice and education and welfare have become accepted as normal throughout the developed world. How many books can say that?

"Cosette: The Sequel to Les Miserables" by Laura Kalpakian

In this book, Marius is involved in the 1848 uprising, and Cosette adopts a street child. Cosette has a daughter, Fantine, who of course falls in love with the boy. Some people liked the book, but Hugo purists hated it (of course). The consensus is that this is nowhere near as good as the original. How could it be? In particular it misses the political and philosophical edge of Hugo's work, and goes for a straightforward story instead.

"Cosette, or the Time of Illusions" by François Cérésa

This is the book that caused all the outrage. In this version, Javert did not die, but somehow survived, found God, and changed his life. The descendants of Victor Hugo (and most of Hugo's fans) felt that this went too far.

Les Miserables is out of copyright, but in France there is a law that the "integrity" of creative work can be protected forever. The Hugo family took this book to court, on the basis that it has Javert survive, which (they said) was an insult to the original book. They lost the first case, and won on appeal, but were only awarded token damages.

"Marius or the Fugitive" by François Cérésa

This was intended to be the sequel to Cosette, in which Marius is jailed for his anti-royalist views, and escapes. The Hugo family wanted it stopped before it appeared. As far as I can tell, they probably succeeded.

Are sequels always evil? My own view is that bad sequels will soon be forgotten, so no harm is done, but unauthorized sequels or rewrites are occasionally very good. Mutiny on the Bounty, the Aeneid, or several of Shakespeare's plays for example. Rewrites are usually rubbish, but sometimes, just sometimes, they can be good. I think we should allow the bad in order to have the good. But that's just my opinion.