are battles in Les Miz NOT the French Revolution??

[Rentaholic2]

Posted: 5/12/05 at 7:55pm

This may be a dumb question, but I guess when I saw the show, I thought act II was the beginning of the French Revolution...now, I'm reading the book and the dates don't exactly line up for it to be so. If not, what is this 'revolution' that the students fight in?

[My Fair Lady]

Posted: 5/12/05 at 8:00pm

It's right after the French Revolution.

[aces25]

Posted: 5/12/05 at 8:01pm

Oddly enough, Les Miz doesn't take place during the French Revolution! It takes place shortly after when France is still feeling the shock of the revolution. This sparks a smaller but another revolution! Hope that helps!

[theatreguy]

Posted: 5/12/05 at 8:01pm

I can't remember the details, but it was just a small student uprising that lasted only 2 days. It had nothing to do with the French Revolution.

[Rentaholic2]

Posted: 5/12/05 at 8:03pm

Thanks--that's kindof disappointing, though. I've always thought of Les Miz as like the ultimate portrait of the French Revolution (next to A Tale of Two Cities). But I guess it is still somewhat part of the overall revolution. It does slightly bring down the large scope of the show---I guess it kindof bothers me that these battles are not part of this greater war. But, oh well!

[bythesword84]

Posted: 5/12/05 at 8:09pm

No the battles in Les Mis take place in 1832 which is clearly after the French Revolution which was the 1790s. If you want a portrayal of the Revolution you should be looking at The Scarlet Pimpernel. You should really read the book if you want to know what Les Mis' fighting is all about. It's actually not the revolution at all. Look at the people who are fighting it, they're students, they weren't even alive during the French Revolution.

[Glebb]

Posted: 5/12/05 at 8:10pm

Listen to Forbidden Broadway Volume II for an explanation.

[Thenardier]

Posted: 5/12/05 at 8:21pm

Damn! Beat me Glebb!

Anyway, the book by Hugo is not so much about the French Revolution or any subsequent battles as it is about - well, going against the French government.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 5/12/05 at 9:31pm

"It takes place shortly after"

Sure, if 40 years is shortly after.

[LariTheLoud]

Posted: 5/12/05 at 10:10pm

Definitely not the French Revolution. *turns on History Geekness*

The 1832 June uprising only lasted a day or two. The *REAL*, historical event actually concerned a group of incredibly bored students. They had nothing better to do than to start trouble, and they were quickly disbanded by the French "Security Brigade" (secret police) headed by Master of Disguise Eugene Francois Vidocq.

The war really isn't what the scope of the story is about. I guess you'd have to read the book to truly understand.

[loudasthehelliwant]

Posted: 5/12/05 at 10:37pm

Its the Uprising of 1832. Its really just a riot. Les Miz is intended to be the "ultimate portrait" of social injustices at the time, not neccessarily of a *revolution*.

[Eastwickian]

Posted: 5/13/05 at 4:57am

If you want a show about the French Revoltion, you may want to pick up a copy of 'La Revolution Francais' - the first musical from Boublil & Schonberg. It's a little '70's in places and bits of are extremely 'Les Mis-esque', but it's an interesting record.
La Revolution Francais from Dress Circle

[Jon]

Posted: 5/13/05 at 8:56am

That's why Thernardier wears a battered old military coat - it's a leftover from the Revolution.

[LariTheLoud]

Posted: 5/13/05 at 2:39pm

Quick correction!

Thenardier's uniform is from the battle at Waterloo. Napoleanic. Not to mention his inn is called "Sergeant of Waterloo"--he enjoys capitalizing on his old title.

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 5/13/05 at 2:42pm

It's a small uprising follow the actual revolution. Napoleon, The Reign of Terror, and the Guillotine have already happened.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 5/13/05 at 3:03pm

The whole "Waterloo" portion of the novel which tells Thenardier's escapades during the Revolution is where I last put the unabridged book down and never picked it up again. It's one of the world's longest digressions that really isn't very intregal to the plot.

[BlueWizard]

Posted: 5/13/05 at 3:15pm

Everyone is right, the 1832 uprising really was only a small revolt. However, from what I've read, there was another, larger Paris uprising in the 1860s that Hugo was witness to, and he very much wanted to include what he saw in his novel; however, he had difficulty fitting it into the historical timeline he had already set up for himself. So instead, he exaggerated the importance and scope of the 1832 student uprising.