The Complete Book of Les Misérables

by Edward Samuel Behr

This is a book about the making of the musical Les Miserables. It is not a different edition of the original Victor Hugo novel.

Les Miserables has made musical history. It has become a cultural, financial, and social phenomenon. In just three years, more than seven million people have flocked to see it, and in ticket revenues alone it has grossed 400 million dollars.

It all began with the classic novel Les Miserables, which Victor Hugo started writing in 1836. Some hundred and fifty years later, in 1980, its musical potential was realized when two young Frenchman, Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schoenberg, adapted Les Miserables for the French stage. In 1982 the impresario Cameron Mackintosh happened to hear their recording and decided to produce it as a musical in English. The the trials and tribulations behind the development of a major international hit began.

Edward Behr goes right back to the novel and the fascinating events surrounding its genesis, not the least of which were the dramas in Victor Hugo's personal life. Behr conveys the full excitement and wonder surrounding the conception and production of the musical. The Complete Book of Les Miserables includes firsthand interviews, hundreds of photographs, set and costume illustrations and the complete libretto for the show. It offers a historically informed and challenging thesis and makes a lasting record of a unique and unforgettable venture.

Genres: Nonfiction, Music, Plays, Theatre, Musicals, Reference

192 pages, Hardcover

First published November 28, 1989

About the author

Edward Samuel Behr was a journalist; he worked primarily as a foreign & war correspondent. He began his career in the early 1950s with the Reuters news agency, then worked for Time-Life, serving as bureau chief in several cities around the world for Time Magazine. He then took a position with Newsweek in 1965 as Asia bureau chief, based in Hong Kong. Later in his career, Mr. Behr also made a number of documentaries for the BBC. He wrote several books during his life on various subjects, including a memoir which was published in 1978.

Reviews

[Ella Hachee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up at a used bookstore after I liked "Hamilton: the Revolution" so much and it was pretty enjoyable. The history got a bit boring at times but I liked learning about Victor Hugo's life and how it compared to "Les Miserables" as well as the commentary on the story itself. Also, I absolutely loved the libretto in the back and I had a fantastic time listening to the soundtrack while I followed along in the book and it was both extremely joyful and extremely heartbreaking. I would highly recommend this to anyone who loves the musical/book.

"...almost any group has its Javerts, its Thenardiers, and its Fantines and every one of us longs to be the kind of saint Valjean eventually becomes. The universal aspect of Les miserables though, has less to do with political upheavals and revolution than with eternal truths about human nature-and God."

[Allison · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was pretty interesting. I liked to learn about some of the facts about one of my favorite musicals. However, I think the Hamilton making-of book that came out a few years after the musical used this format better, which was probably because Hamilton's creator wrote it. this book did not feel very personal.
My favorite part of this book was seeing all the pictures from the les mis productions around the world. I discovered this musical during quarantine and therefore have never seen it. I've mostly just listened to the soundtrack(a lot) and watched the movie. It was also really nice to read the full libretto. Not all the songs are on the soundtrack so the libretto was nice to fill in the gaps. I found the 25th university concert at a sidewalk sale and will probably watch it soon. Overall, a nice book for fans of the musical!

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm surprised I only heard about this book recently. It's about the background and origin of the Les Mis musical, and while it's not as intimate as Hamilton: The Revolution, it's pretty interesting. It was published in 1989, though, so it's dated, sometimes hilariously so (it mentions the Les Mis movie coming out in 1992- sorry, original readers of this book, you're going to have to wait another twenty years!). It has the complete lyrics to the show, and some of them have changed or been taken out since 1989. One minor gripe is that there's some incorrect information about Victor Hugo- it switches around the years of birth for his two daughters (yeah, I can't believe I know that, either, but the only reason I do is that I knew that one daughter died shortly after she was married, and the DOB given for her here would have made her 13 when she died rather than 19).

[Annaka Dodd · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title pretty much says it all. Very thoroughly researched from beginning to end, with sections here and there devoted to theatre production technicalities like production and casting. The evolution of Les Miserables from idea to book to musical is engaging, especially if you're an enthusiast of literature and/or history.

There were some instances where I felt the details of initial production slowed the story a bit, but nothing too terrible. I recommend it.

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

An entertaining and informative read. Interesting that this came out only a few years after the musical was first released - it was already a phenomenon. Decades later and it's still going strong. This is a nice resource for obsessive fans like myself. :D

[Kaleigh C · Rating 3 out of 5]

The 2012 film adaption will always reign supreme. It’s a deeply unpopular hill that I’m all too willing to die on.

[Su · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are lots of things for fans of the musical to like about this book. (Please note, as it says in the book description, that this book is about the making of the musical and is not the book Les Miserables itself.) The pictures alone are worth it-- see the incredibly young Colm Wilkinson!

Two things in this book stand out to me:
1). The character of Bambatabois, who gets Fantine arrested after she wounds him in self-defence, was based on a real person Victor Hugo encountered. He saw the whole exchange, knew that the man was in the wrong, and went to the police station to give his statement and ensure that the woman was released, just as Valjean does in the book and the musical.
2.) The first time Colm Wilkinson sang "Bring Him Home" in rehearsal, the cast went silent. The director reminded them that they had been told that Les Mis would be a religious experience, to which one of the cast retorted that he hadn't told them God himself would be singing the song. Heck yeah, Colm Wilkinson.

What's fun about this book is that is came out in 1989, when the musical was only four years old. Some of the original creative team's speculation that makes it into the book, i.e., "If we ever rewrite X scene, we'll change Y to Z," has come to pass in the 26 years since. I giggled a bit.

In short: fans of the musical version of Les Mis, you need to read this.

[Ann Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took me a year to read this - the librarians would laugh at me when I would recheck it out because NOBODY wants the unabridged. Still glad I read it. I need to know more about French politics and history, though.

[Caitlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have had this book on my shelf for years, but finally felt compelled to read it after revisiting Les Mis on the big screen.

This book certainly felt dated, but had some fun tidbits of the show's history...

[Kari · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think everyone should read this book at some point in their life. I cried the last 10 pages at least and through out the book. It has a lot of wonderful life lessons you can take from it.

[JANIII · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just like Hugo's original book, this "history" is propaganda. However, the subject that is being built up is the stage show; this book is one giant love letter to the stage adaptation, and it goes out of its way to fellate Cameron Mackintosh.