View a FREE sample

Part I - Fantine

• The year is 1815 and Napoleon has just been defeated at Waterloo.

• Bishop Myriel lives a quiet life as a just man, who is especially sympathetic toward the poor, bandits, and convicts.

• One day a strange man asks for shelter at his home and, with his usual compassion, the bishop gives him room and board.

• This man is Jean Valjean, who has just been released from prison after serving a lengthy, unjust sentence, during which he tried to escape numerous times.

• Valjean’s soul has "withered" and all but died; the bishop urges Valjean to replace anger with good will in order to be worthy of respect.

• Valjean listens, but nevertheless, he decides to rob the good bishop; during the night, he runs away with the bishop's silver.

• Valjean is caught and brought back to the bishop, who tells the police that he himself gave...

(read more Chapter Abstracts)

This section contains 887 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample