Q 01/05

Who wrote the novel Les Misérables?

A) Gustave Flaubert

B) Victor Hugo

C) Émile Zola

D) Alexandre Dumas

Answer · why

B) Victor Hugo

Victor Hugo completed Les Misérables during his exile on Guernsey; Flaubert disliked the finished book, finding 'neither truth nor greatness' in it.

Q 02/05

In which year was the novel first published?

A) 1862

B) 1848

C) 1831

D) 1855

Answer · why

A) 1862

Les Misérables appeared in 1862 in instalments: the first part, Fantine, in early April, parts two and three on 15 May, and the last two parts on 30 J...

Q 03/05

What did Jean Valjean steal, earning him five years in prison that grew to nineteen?

A) A horse

B) A silver candlestick

C) A loaf of bread

D) A purse of coins

Answer · why

C) A loaf of bread

A loaf of bread was all he took, to feed his widowed sister's seven starving children; four failed escape attempts stretched his sentence to nineteen ...

Q 04/05

What is Valjean's prisoner number in the musical?

A) 24601

B) 24061

C) 24160

D) 26401

Answer · why

A) 24601

Valjean's number is 24601; the prologue in which Javert barks it at him was written for the 1985 London production, since the French original opened w...

Q 05/05

Which cleric shelters Valjean and then lies to the police, saying the stolen silver was a gift?

A) The Archbishop of Paris

B) The Curé of Toulon

C) The Bishop of Digne

D) The Abbot of Montfermeil

Answer · why

C) The Bishop of Digne

The Bishop of Digne, Monseigneur Myriel, tells the gendarmes he gave Valjean the silver; Hugo modelled him on Bienvenu de Miollis, the real bishop the...