From Book To Film: Les Miserables - Does The Film Live Up To The Musical?

The Book

38 The story goes that Victor Hugo sent Les Miserables to his publisher with a telegram that asked, "?" The man's response was "!" The novel was published in 1862, when the author was 60. (Another popular story says that 24601 was based on Victor Hugo's perceived date of conception, 24th of June 1801.) It was partially inspired by the life of one Eugène François Vidocq, an ex-convict who became a successful businessman. Valjean's rescue of a worker by lifting a cart was taken from Vidocq's own life. Hugo himself witnessed the 1832 revolt, seeing the barricades go up and having to avoid gunfire in the streets of Paris. He rescued a prostitute in 1841 from being arrested for assault. He participated in the 1848 revolution. The book is in five volumes and can be found abridged to a couple hundred pages or unabridged, at which point you can read it or use it as a doorstop. I recommend that you give the unabridged version a try because there are so many things that don't make sense any other way. Let's touch on a few of the items from the book that have no place in the movie.
Contributor
Contributor

That's Kaki pronounced like the pants, thank you very much, my family nickname and writing name. I am a Red Sox-loving, Doctor Who-quoting, Shaara-reading walking string quartet of a Mormon writer from Boston. I currently work 40 hours at a stressful desk job with a salary that lets me pick up and travel to places like Ireland or Philadelphia. I have no husband or kids, but I have five nephews to keep me entertained. When not writing, working or eating too much Indian food, I'm always looking for something new to learn, whether it's French or family history.