A marvelous little church with a story to tell. (Photo: Nichole Robertson)
It’s Christmas Eve. The world awaits in joyful expectation the coming of… Les Misérables in a theater near you.
Evocations of the 16th century (Photo: Nichole Robertson)
But please, do me a big favor, in the spirit of the season. Please don’t say this film is about the French Revolution. Many of us have repeatedly corrected the media, Huffington Post included, for this oft-repeated gaffe. No surprise, perhaps, since even Director Tom Hooper seems a little dim about French history.
So let me help everyone sort this out. The French Revolution began with the storming of the Bastille in 1789. The principal events of Les Misérables take place in 1832. Different century. The July Revolution two years earlier had put the Orléanist monarchy on the throne, under the popular “Citizen King” Louis-Philippe. Popular for awhile, that is. Despite his unpretentious manners and a character that Les Miz author Victor Hugo commended as “good” and “admirable,” the income gap widened and the conditions of the working class deteriorated. By the spring of 1832, a deadly cholera epidemic had exacerbated a severe economic crisis.
His death pulled the trigger.
In the early morning hours of June 5, crowds of workers, students, and others gathered in the streets of Paris. The immediate trigger was the death of General Jean Maximilien Lamarque, who had been a friend to the poor and downtrodden. The crowd had hoped to accompany Lamarque’s hearse before it took the general home to his native district in the southwest of France. Those mourning and those with a political agenda merged into a mob that numbered in the tens of thousands – some witnesses claimed it eventually grew to 100,000.
The 30-year-old Victor Hugo was nearby, in the Tuileries Gardens, writing a play. Then he heard gunfire from the direction of Les Halles. Instead of going home to safety, he followed the sounds of gunfire through the deserted streets. He was unaware that the mob had taken half of Paris, and the barricades were everywhere in Les Halles. According to Wikipedia, Hugo headed north up the Rue Montmartre, then turned right onto the Passage du Saumon, finally turning before the Rue du Bout du Monde (if this street still exists, it has a different name now): “Halfway down the alley, the grilles at either end were slammed shut. Hugo was surrounded by barricades and flung himself against a wall, as all the shops and stores had been closed for some time. He found shelter between some columns. For a quarter of an hour, bullets flew both ways.” Three decades later, he would write about the unforgettable experience in Les Misérables.
I had hoped to visit some of the route during my recent visit to France. Alas, my trip was too brief, and I couldn’t quite figure out what had happened, and where, on my Paris map. I had to make the journey vicariously, later, through Mark Traugott‘s The Insurgent Barricade (University of California Press).
No wonder I was confused. Traugott’s map of the insurrection shows that Lamarque’s funerary procession made a wide arc around the city’s right bank. The insurrection affected both sides of the Seine, but the flash points were here, on the right bank.
Dragoons had been under orders to refrain from the use of deadly force, but when a shot rang out from somewhere, the crowd began to throw stones at the military. The cry “To the barricades!” resounded through the streets. But what, exactly, did that mean?
According to Traugott:
“Insurgents began uprooting the saplings planted to replace the larger trees cut down during the July Days. They also scavenged planks and beams from nearby construction sites and improvised tools for prying up paving stones. These classic raw materials were natural choices because they added mass, helped knit the structure together, and were usually found in abundance right at the site of the barricade construction. Between 5 p.m., when the first sporadic gunfire was exchanged, and 6:30, when pitched battles were initially reported, dozens of barricades had been completed on both the right and left side of the Seine. Individual structures took as little as fifteen minutes to erect.
“Even as the first barricades were going up, a frantic search for arms began. Some rebels had to be content with sabers, staffs, or scythes, but rifles were the weapons of choice, and bands of insurgents boldly seized them from small patrols of soldiers encountered in the streets. Others joined in pillaging the premises of Lepage frères, the largest of several Paris gunsmiths whose establishments were looted.”
Why, you may ask, have I chosen to illustrate this post about a doomed revolt with the elegant photos of Nichole Robertson over at Little Brown Pen?
This little gem of a 16th-century church is Église Saint-Merri. The insurgents staged a desperate last stand in and around this church, at the heart of the district where the fiercest fighting took place.
Empty chairs at empty tables. (Photo: Nichole Robertson)
The insurgents pleaded for help, but no help came. The citizens of Paris were not as quick to join the revolution as they were to join the unruly funeral procession. In the theatrical production of Les Miz, the army officer warns the insurgents via a loud-bailer:
You at the barricade listen to this!
No one is coming to help you to fight
You’re on your own
You have no friends
Give up your guns – or die!
And it was true. According to Traugott, “The casualty toll among the insurgents, mounting as high as 800 dead and wounded, was particularly heavy because the people of Paris withheld their support, leaving most of the committed insurgents of June 1832 to pay for their rebellion with their lives.”
If nothing else, please remember is that the whole point of the French Revolution is that the revolutionaries won. Remember the beheading of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, Robespierre et al.? This was different. In 1832, writes Traugott, “The last guns were silenced a barely twenty-four hours after hostilities had begun.”
Tags: General Jean Maximilien Lamarque, Mark Traugott, Nichole Robertson, Tom Hooper, Victor Hugo
December 29th, 2012 at 1:19 pm
[...] the use of my photos of Église Saint-Merri. Yesterday, she sent me a link to her article, “Enjoy Les Miserables. But Please Get the History Straight.” It’s a fun read that clears up a few common misconceptions and provides historical [...]
December 29th, 2012 at 7:18 pm
Thanks! I had a lot of questions after watching the new movie yesterday. This clears up a few things. I still have so many more questions as to how close to history the movie/story was.
December 30th, 2012 at 4:39 pm
You’re welcome, Heidi! Happy New Year!
December 31st, 2012 at 9:49 am
Thanks! I was curious about the historical context after watching the film and this article helped clear up some confusions I had.
December 31st, 2012 at 5:57 pm
Thanks. I wanted to put some historical context to the movie as we realized that the dates were not what we had expected.
January 4th, 2013 at 6:56 pm
thanks for this I was just explaining to my son that while it was a revolution oui, it was not THE revolution …. if you want a good movie about that A&E version of the Scarlett Pimpernel is fun
January 5th, 2013 at 7:21 am
Frankly i thought that the movie was pretty clear that it did not involve the French Revolution. First, of course, there’s the date issues. Then, there’s the lack of a guillotine (surely most of us recall reading A Tale of Two Cities in high school?) At one point early on, the viewer is also told that the king is “back on the throne again”. Since Marie and her spouse (the king) were beheaded during the French Revolution, this would have to be a new king thereby suggesting a different uprising. But maybe I’ve just read too much French history.
January 5th, 2013 at 8:33 am
Michelle, it doesn’t take too much reading of French history to know that this is a different generation, a different revolution. I’m always surprised people make this fantastic mistake. The ethos of the era was so entirely different – and the clothes and hairstyles are so entirely different.
January 7th, 2013 at 1:28 pm
[...] Getting the History Right in Les Mis (Stanford University’s Cynthia Haven) [...]
January 7th, 2013 at 2:19 pm
[...] Getting the History Right in Les Mis (Stanford University’s Cynthia Haven) [...]
January 8th, 2013 at 3:10 pm
[...] Getting the History Right in Les Mis (Stanford University’s Cynthia Haven) [...]
January 10th, 2013 at 11:26 am
Eric Hazan’s wonderful book The Invention of Paris also discusses this scene from Hugo’s Les Miserables, and provides a bit more historical and geographic/topographic context. (Highly recommended for all who love Paris and its history.)
January 13th, 2013 at 2:01 pm
The young boy “Gavroche” sings with a cockney accent…why?
January 13th, 2013 at 2:30 pm
Isn’t some sort of Cockney terminology included in the role? (I recall a reference to “toffs.”) I suppose he represents the equivalent class in Paris … but then of course, so would his sister Eponine. And all the other Thenardiers.
January 15th, 2013 at 7:17 am
I’m one of those who doesn’t know my history, and came here via the chairs, so I feel lucky to see this. Les Mis, what a nice door way into history.
January 15th, 2013 at 7:24 am
eek, and I’m one of those who don’t know correct grammar.. oye.
January 17th, 2013 at 3:54 pm
I came here for the same reason we all did — the movie wasn’t about The French Revolution, but it was about a later revolution, not so successful, and there was a “King”! This answered some questions, still hungering for more answers, but at least I know the chronology, and can proceed from here. Nice, erudite site.
January 18th, 2013 at 8:02 am
So THE French Revolution was won and this one lost. The difference? More at the top end get to join in with the suffering when it’s won but little difference for the rest. Same as it ever was. Sorry getting a bit philosophical here but I was bit unsure of the exact setting and this has helped nicely. What happened next? When did they get a welfare state going?
January 19th, 2013 at 6:49 am
Thanks for that information as I too was confused after seeing Les Mis the movie too – having not read the book or knowing little about the French Revolution (expecially not the dates) except of guillotines and “let them eat bread “quote by Marie Antoinette.
January 20th, 2013 at 8:44 am
Come to the Historical Fiction eBooks website for an additional explanation of the 43 years of history between “the French Revolution” and the 1832 events of Les Mis, which is not about Marie-Antoinette and guillotines but is very much about the LEGACY of the Revolution:
http://hfebooks.com/no-its-not-actually-the-french-revolution-les-miserables-and-history-by-susanne-alleyn/
January 21st, 2013 at 10:50 am
Very enlightening…I am almost fluent in French, and know a few things about the French Revolution, etc. but upon seeing Les Miserables, I was a bit confused…I guess it’s been too long since I cracked a history book. Thanks for the explanation of what was going on and when in this great movie. I’ve seen it twice already and loved it even more the second time.
January 22nd, 2013 at 6:11 am
Merci cent fois. As other people have said, we didn’t know exactly what led people to the barricades. I was a French major, like the othe woman who wrote, but it could be confusing. As we were leaving the theater, one fellow said “I knew it would be sad because it was about the Revolution”. He obviously didn’t read the information as the movie started. Encore, merci.
January 26th, 2013 at 4:02 pm
Thanks for all the clarification. I hate to admit that I never liked History in school, so had no idea of what happened when, to whom, by whom, and why….. I had no idea if this was based on any kind of actual fact; I only knew of the buzz that it supposedly had something to do, loosely, with the French Revolution. Even my son knew more than I did, & said he thought the F.R. was much earlier! I still have love this production, having seen it 4 times on stage here in Seattle, & now the movie. Even tho I had to admit my ignorance, I do appreciate this helpful, concise explanation of what actually happened! Thanks & Kudos!
January 29th, 2013 at 9:49 am
I, too, was unsure of the role each of the characters in the movie played, or the purpose of the rebellion. I think, at the beginning of the movie, it would have been helpful if a short narrative of the historical background of the rebellion could have been included. As in a classroom, if a teacher gives a short overview of a topic that’s being introduced to the students for the first time, it perks-up their interest and makes for a better lesson for the day. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the movie and plan to see it again (with far better understanding this time!).
February 4th, 2013 at 7:46 am
A postscript:
> According to Wikipedia, Hugo headed north up the Rue Montmartre, then turned right onto the Passage du Saumon, finally turning before the Rue du Bout du Monde (if this street still exists, it has a different name now)
I finally took a squint at my 1789 map of Paris and compared it with the modern map. Rue du Bout du Monde still exists but is now Rue Leopold-Bellan. It’s part of the pedestrians-only area of old, narrow streets north of Saint-Eustache and runs east-west between Rue Montmartre and Rue Montorgeuil. Passage du Saumon, which looks like a tiny alley on the 1789 map, running south of and parallel to Rue du Bout du Monde, doesn’t seem to exist any more; or, if it does, may be the present-day Rue Bachaumont.
February 4th, 2013 at 8:08 am
Thank you, Susanne! Aren’t maps wonderful? Can you send us a jpeg?
February 18th, 2013 at 2:50 pm
Lana, someone who has a Cockney accent would of course sing with a Cockney accent. What other kind of accent would he sing with? I find it much more interesting that in the 1950 non-musical version of Les Miz Gavroch does NOT have an accent. Also, thank you Cynthia , for I did not know that Eponine was Gavroch’s sister; or did I simply misunderstand you? And if they ARE siblings, how come Eponine has a normal English accent? And why do any ofthem have English accents in the first place? They’re in FRANCE, after all! And not only do they have English accents, but their characteristics and behaviors are British as well. In spite of my confusion I am still very excited to see the traveling Broadway musical of Les Miz this summer in Sacramento! If anyone could explain to me so that I will notbe so confused, it would b e gladly appreciated.
February 18th, 2013 at 3:01 pm
Hello Rachel. Yes, in the book, Gavroche and Eponine are siblings. Samantha Barks doesn’t have a “normal English accent,” if there is such a thing. She has a different kind of accent – more North Country. She grew up on the Isle of Man.
Most people don’t sing with any accents at all. Gavroche’s role obviously plays on his urchin-ness by retaining Cockney usages, diction, etc.
What kind of accent would you expect them to have? Would an American accent be better? Why? An American accent would certainly sound odd to the British!
French people don’t have accents when they’re speaking in French. They sound normal to each other. It would be strange and affected if they all put on French accents!
February 22nd, 2013 at 9:43 am
Thank you for this post. I was reading Hugo and confused about this piece of history. You made it clear. Very nicely written!
February 22nd, 2013 at 10:01 am
Thank you! And you’re welcome, Pat.
February 23rd, 2013 at 10:47 am
I’m pretty sure that in the film they actually refer to the fact that they got rid of the monarchy, having beheaded the King and then replaced him but that the new King was just as bad. This, along with the lack of powdered wigs and painted faces, made it quite clear to me that this was quite some time after the French Revolution.
February 23rd, 2013 at 11:16 am
Yes, Gladys. Gavroche gives a quick rundown of 40 years of French history while bumping along on the back of a carriage. Some of the other characters also pepper their talk with historical references. The movie tries to articulate the historical changes that got jumbled and lost in the stage version of the musical, with some success.
I, too, lament that so few people recognize the distinct fashion changes between the two eras – from the neoclassical, Empire styles to the open, romantic-era designs of the 1830s.
February 24th, 2013 at 11:09 am
Thank you for your priceless information. i was mixed up also about the French revolution and Les Misérables, i thought it was in the same period as the movie showed.
February 25th, 2013 at 9:26 am
Just one question. In the novel (forget the movie), when would you say the first scene takes place? My guess is about 1795.
February 25th, 2013 at 9:37 am
The book opens in Digne, in Provence, in 1815.
February 25th, 2013 at 9:40 am
Thanks very much
March 23rd, 2013 at 3:50 pm
The revolutionaries didn’t win so much as the bourgeoisie in the French Revolution. The latter compromised with the authorities to keep out the very just claims of egalite. The bourgeoisie used the situation in order to leverage their own position,and ,thus,sold the people out! And, just because the insurgents lost in 1832 doesn’t mean that they were naive,nor wrongheaded. The effects of having little or no work,no bread, and suffering the greatest from the cholera outbreak, may have made it seem more *imperative* to them than to their so-called” betters*!!
“If nothing else, please remember is that the whole point of the French Revolution is that the revolutionaries won. Remember the beheading of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, Robespierre et al.? This was different. In 1832, writes Traugott, “The last guns were silenced a barely twenty-four hours after hostilities had begun.–Cynthia Haven “
April 20th, 2013 at 12:27 pm
Where did you find the reference to Saint-Merri?? I visited, last week, and asked about the rebellion and they said they had no idea it was the site of any such thing…
April 20th, 2013 at 9:41 pm
I can’t even remember now, but it’s hardly a secret. Mostly I was looking for the route of the failed revolution to check out while I was in Paris, and uncovered this history. If you Google no doubt you can find lots.
April 28th, 2013 at 3:28 pm
Thankyou for this history, it is something useful people can use.
May 3rd, 2013 at 5:54 pm
Now I ❤ the musical and the movie! But I have to say it is nice to have that little history lesson.
May 12th, 2013 at 5:35 pm
I believe the revolution in the movie is the June Rebellion, not the French Revolution.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_Rebellion