T H E  B L O T T E R  T A L K S !

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Dear Ms. Arlene C. Harris,

Hello! My name is Melanie Berry. I am currently a junior in high school, and am in love with Victor Hugo's Les Miserables. I was introduced to the story via a friend from church, and, after borrowing the musical score, I read the novel.

Despite loving the novel, after turning the final page (and allowing a little time for the scope of the story to set in) a question began to form, the terrible, wonderful question that drives the writer in me mad: What If. What if some of my favorite characters had lived? What if they were somehow forced to keep each other's company? What if the stories took place in modern day New York City instead of 1830's Paris, France? What then?

I've always been something of a storyteller, and I set to work to answer a few of the questions myself, as well as to entertain some of my friends who had also read or were familiar with Les Miserables. What started as almost a joke took the bit in its teeth, so to speak and ran (and is still running) off with me.

As much as I like borrowing Hugo's wonderful characters, I still wondered if anyone else in the world had thought of the What If and acted on it. I had heard of Cosette, but after reading the reviews on Amazon.com (one star from most - ouch) I decided I'd rather now.

However, at the bottom of the page was that little 'related items' box. And it was there I discovered your wonderful Pont Au Change novels. I received Book One: Resurrections for Christmas and promptly devoured it, then ordered the next two and have mowed my way through Book Two: Sanctuary. I quite humbly admit that I didn't quite know what to hope for; as far as 'interpretative' fiction novels have gone, what I've read has ranged from awful to wonderful, so I didn't know where your novels were going to fit. I can now say that Pont Au Change is one of the most remarkable I have read in staying true to the personalities of the principle characters; exciting plot development; and wonderful original characters as well.

First, I have to say that I love the idea of the plot-within-a-plot. I assume that more and more will be revealed how one ties in with the other so that, by the final book, all the loose ends will come together. I've made weak guesses, but I really don't know. I will wait with utmost impatience to see what happens.

Second, your plot is fantastic. I have, to date, learned more about French-Canada from the part VI of Sanctuary than I did out of a history book. The situations are marvelous and very clever. I admit, that in Sanctuary, when Bamatabois was revealed to be the mayor of Montreuil-sur-mer, I shrieked so that my sister asked me what was the matter. Montparnasse's entrance in book one made me literally stand up and dance. Your plot twists are perfectly done, and, though I should know better, I've walked unsuspecting into every plot 'trap' in the series, only to be completely surprised every time.

Third, your characterizations of Hugo's characters are spot on. Here I have to go into detail, because I was so happily surprised about them.

Valjean - in short, perfection outside of Hugo. Small details are perfect (thank you so much for getting the hair color right, and the brand, and the brown eyes. I don't know why I've always pictured Valjean as being brown eyed, I just have) and as far as character goes he is the perfect combination of mild and mysterious. He usually is simple in heart, and his slow drifting back to his peasant roots is well done. Valjean's 'going mad' over the rose garden was heartbreakingly sweet, as well as his 'tending' of the girl. At the some time, he still remains a veiled character; it was wonderful to see him angry, almost revert back to the convict he was in Toulon. Valjean walks the perfect line of being usually predictable - and therefore, even less because of it. His interaction with Javert is also well done - the two seem usually comfortable enough, but there is a strain of underlying tension on both sides (which Javert aggravates when it suits him to). Valjean's relationship with Cosette is what I wish happened in Hugo's novel; it is enchanting to watch it develop further in your novels.

Javert - Down to the details of smoking the cigarillo (I've always rather pictured Javert as a smoker; this particular detail made me grin comparable in size to a Cheshire Cat) is also near perfection. I loved seeing him interact with Cosette (one of my own personal 'What Ifs'), I adore his moodiness, and the best of this is blatant dislike of Victor Hugo! It is lovely to see a little of the author's struggle with a particularly hard character to write. Javert's cynicism towards women (and the world in general) in the second book is also great. His hatred for his own race is also perfect: razor-sharp, bitter, and just a bit hypocritical. I also love how you've captured Javert's lone-wolf attitude, and the reason behind the fact that he has chosen to remain alone. I agree with the reasoning: Javert is actually quite a passionate person, with violent feelings. He wouldn't love or loose halfway; he knows his own weakness and stays away from it. A note on Javert: he's serious, to be sure, but he's also quirky, and has a rather subtle, dry sense of humor (One of my favorite parts from Hugo's novel involving Javert was in Gorbeau: "You will not leave by the window, you will leave by the door. It's less dangerous to life and limb. There are seven of you, there are fifteen of us. Let's not bet into a brawl like a lot of hayseeds from Auvergne. Let's be nice."). I loved the brief flashes of it he had in the first and second books, and I hope to see of this in the future books as well.

Cosette- Thank goodness. Your Cosette is strong, capable and spirited, so wonderfully in contrast from the 'dry cereal' Cosettes I have heard of in other writing. Her interaction with Javert (I admit, I had thought of him possibly being sort of a 'crazy uncle' figure if allowed to; your reference to this made me laugh aloud with the knowledge that Someone Else Gets It) is the perfect balance of just a bit awkward, and just a bit sweet. Also, I am compelled to say that Marius and Cosette are actually interesting - I followed their part of the books with just as much interest as the rest of it; where usually Cosette and Marius make me want to skip ahead.

As for your characters peppered throughout the books, they are delightful. My favorite two are M. Rene and Mignon. Rene I assumed was an 'extra' in book one; someone inserted to move the plot along. I am glad I was wrong; I love his reappearance and the depth added to his character. He also makes an excellent couple with Mignon, and the trick they played together while escaping the British guards was sweet as well as sensational.

All in all, this is a letter of thanks. Thank you for respecting Hugo's characterizations, and subtly adding your own charming touch. Thank you for a gripping, twisting, intriguing plot. Thank you, most of all, for being brave enough to offer a world of readers your own personal answer to the What If that, secretly, plagues us all. I am truly enjoying the series, and one of my friends is already nagging me to lend them to her because I can't stop talking about them. I suppose I will share. :-)

Again, thanks for the great, gripping read - one of the best I've had in a while. I wait in all eagerness for Book Four: Honor, while trying not to read Adrift too quickly.

Respectfully yours,

Melanie Berry

and the follow up letter...

Dear Ms. Arlene C. Harris,

This is Melanie Berry again. I don't wish to become too insistent or annoying; but I fear that I merely committed the rather embarrassing and infamous blunder of hitting send on my e-mail when I meant to hit 'save as draft'. In short, I don't know what sent and what did not. If you have the first portion of what I am writing back, I apologize. Oh, the perils of modern technology! Computers are fickle things.

At any rate, computer errors aside, thank you for the reply; it made my day! I know as (somewhat) of a writer myself how I love feedback (my friends tire of it easily: "So? What did you think? Good? Nope, not enough. What did you love? What did you hate? Details! DETAILS!"). I was very glad to know that my feedback was encouraging.

As to reading Adrift slowly, I made a noble effort: I attribute my failure to your excellent, almost-breakneck style. It took me a week and a half instead of two days. :) The path to the end of a book is paved with good intents to try to read it slowly. However, I gave up the effort and devoured the story. It was too suspenseful for me to even consider going slowly on. I find it rather shocking that I enjoyed five years of work in roughly a week, but, again, your storylines do not lend themselves to 'nibbling' at a book. Adrift was marvelous - I loved the setting aboard the ship - and I look forward with all eagerness to Honor's publication. I can't wait to see what Valjean and Javert will run into in Australia! And, of course, how all the plot threads will come a bit closer to the final story's completion. Also, I wrote to say that I don't mind you posting my letter. I feel immensely flattered that an author cares so much about her readers that she replies to them individually. Thank you again for that.

One final thing that I forgot to mention in my previous letter that has been intriguing: I wondered how you figured the age differences between Valjean and Javert. I worked it once, and got twelve years; I tried it again and got nine; a third time yielded your number, ten.

Here's my figuring:

Javert mentions in the chapter "How Jean Can Turn Into Champ" that Champmathieu is the same age as Valjean - fifty-four. This is in the year 1823. Therefore, simple math applied, Valjean was born in 1770. Javert is a bit easier: he died at age fifty-two in 1832; therefore born in 1780 (yes. Fear the Hugo-geek math. It has served me well. :-) ). I wondered if this was the same reasoning you used. I don't know why my numbers came up differently the other two times.

Again, thank you for your personal reply! And again, I state that Honor will be eagerly anticipated. In the meantime, I guess I shall re-read the first three books, make up my own little 'Miserable' amusements, and doodle. Because yes, doodling Victor Hugo characters is very fun.

All the best,

Melanie Berry :-)

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Hello!

First of all, the correction. I was reading your Media Comparison Checklist (which I absolutely love, by the way), and at the end of the 1952 US film version you mention that it's not available anywhere. I actually found it on iTunes, which is why I came to your website to see if it was what I wanted (it isn't!) before downloading it. So it is available elsewhere, just so you know. :)

(yes, thank you! I also found it available elsewhere... I have updated the review)

Second of all, WOW. Just WOW. I am a Les Mis nut, and your site with all of its excellent reviews and Mizzie-related stuff feeds my obsession all too well. :D I also have every intentions of ordering your book(s) to read (just need to get around to it...); I've heard about the awful 'Cosette' sequel but there's never any mention of your books when the subject of Les Mis sequels comes up. Anyhoodle, I've spent far too many hours reading over your site and gallery and just love the whole concept.

Um...now that I've babbled on enough...*sheepish grin*

~Molly

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PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: The following is one big reason I am going to move the series to a different publisher...

Dear Ms. Harris,

I found a small excerpt (on board a ship) of your work on the internet, and I like it very much. It appears, however, that the IUniverse response is desultory at best. I really want to keep reading the whole, and begin from where you start in Guernsey. Could you please let me know where to purchase the books so far?

Thank you,

Carolyn Anderson

Dear Ms Harris,

I am teaching in London for my US university, took 30 undergrads to the musical, and then decided to re read the Hugo; as a medievalist, I am interested in the idea of literary and narrative expansion, especially as many medieval texts grow and change over several centuries: e.g (the real medieval texts in Old French, medieval Latin etc on Arthurian material are usually badly written, and the modern ones are past praying for).

"An long preamble of a Tale."(as Chaucer has the Friar say to the Wife of Bath) I would really like to consider the nature and role of pastiche, (which I don't think covers your texts) and csn see as plausible in sequelae; Mind you, I have only read a summary of Bks 1 &2, and have bits of 3 (Adrift bits and pieces on the web in a fairly disconnected way).

I have ordered the first 3 books from a bookseller here in the UK...

and, from the followup letter...

...I'm a classicist /medievalist by training and profession, and what you do fits in with much of those literary habits: an author reads an original, and uses it as "the tradition" as the text, and then uses "innovation" to read it creatively (or even to "misread" it, especially at the level of trope) at various levels. The "traditio et innovatio" is a thoroughly normal mode of narrative expansion for Western Lit, and it is separate from translation, pastiche, parody, or the purely boneheaded misunderstanding of something as dreadful as the "Cosette" tripe or even worse, the "Da Vinci" code (only lasted 1 page for either).

One question: what does "retcon" mean? From what you say, it refers to exploring and playing with the nature of textual originality, Ur-text obsession (a favorite for classicists etc), author (as intention and as author), and received text as ( (un)finished) product.

"Retcon" is short for "retroactive continuity." What happens when a creator goes back and fixes something earlier so it agrees with later revelations. In the case of Pont-au-Change, the point where my narrative diverges from Hugo's, which is, the point where Valjean saves Javert.

Anyway, as you can tell, I enjoyed it immensely, and I think the first 2 books read so far are very smart.

Thanks,

Carolyn Anderson

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I love your site and I love all the dedication you've put into it. Keep it up! People discover Les Mis all the time and that site is such a valuable resource.

But I loved the Scrooge Mc Duck Les Mis comic story and was sad that all the pictures were broken. Is there anyway they can be fixed or re-uploaded somewhere? That would be great!

-A loyal fan

Slight coding problem. Should be fixed.

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Some of these letters are from last winter, around the time my mother died. As I said, the letters have been around awhile...

I wanted to post, but...

.. you have anonymous comments turned off since you moved blogs. In fact I said to a friend (before you Mom had passed) that I really wish I could at least express support, but I don't have an LJ account, and for various reasons I don't want to sign up with them. And even if I had signed up quickly, I still couldn't have commented, because I'm not on your f-list... I commented anonymously a few times on the old Blog, but I wouldn't have expected you recognize my name. :( I'm sure I'm not the only one who wanted to post something and couldn't. (In fact, I know of at least one other person.)

Unfortunately, it didn't occur to me until just now that I could use the e-mail address from your webpage - sorry. :(

Anyway, I'm not just saying this because of your last post, I would have said it before if I'd realized there was a way to: I'm really, really sorry for what you're going through. I can't even imagine how hard it must be, and how much you must be hurting right now. I've been thinking about you and your family these past few days, an I was truly saddened to read about your Mom's passing.

I would like to end this ona positive note, but "I hope you feel better soon" sounds just way too trite under the circumstances. So let me just say I'll keep you in my thoughts.

Jennifer

-- True education flowers at the point when delight falls in love with responsibility. ~~Philip Pullman

Dear Jennifer:

Dear Arlene,

I know what you mean. The one think that can make a bad situation even worse is being let down by one's "friends." I've had that happen, both in RL and online. I'm sorry the people you thought you could trust let you down so.

Don't worry about the webpage or LJ right now. I'm sure everyone understands. And if anyone doesn't, screw them. There are more important things in life than the internet.

And yes, moms are always our biggest fans - mine read my entire MA thesis even though she barely understood a word of it. *g* Of course, with your books it's different - I'm sure your Mom really loved them, and I'm sorry she won't be able to share the rest with you.

I don't suppose there's anything I can do, being an ocean away and a complete stranger, but if there is, please let me know.

Best,

Jennifer

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Dear Arlene,

first of all, I'm very happy I have found your site. I shall get these books. Being a Javert fan, I'm sure I'd like them.

My question, or problem is (on the site), when I go into the gallery there is no link to pictures, only the main page with one pic and some text, but I can't get into it.

What can the bug be? I'm using Firefox.

Best wishes

Sieglinde

from Hungary

NOTE: I got lots of letters about not being able to get into the Gallery site. I have added a text link to the page.

From the follow up letter:

LOLZ, these pics are awesome. Especially their titles. :D

Sieglinde

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And then I got the following, which still cracks me up no end...

Hi,

I can offer fair compensation if you'd place a few links on

http://www.pontauchange.com/cosette.html

Would you be interested?

Best,

Ashley O'Reilly

*snerk*

You want to put advertizing links... on the page explaining why my banner ad looks the way it does? Only that page?

Hahahahahahahahahahaha! Quelle idiot!

(That would be a "no," btw.)

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Hello!

I recently found your phenomenal series via a Google search, and I bought all three books from Amazon. I read the 50-page "look inside" feature for each book on iUniverse and absolutely could not resist. The quality of your writing is fantastic! It's astounding to ponder how much research you must have undertaken in order to write these installments. Your take on the characters is, in many cases, even more thoughtful than Hugo's, especially for Javert. I really adore the manner in which you write him; he's terribly snarky! Anyway, I am most eager for "Honor" to be published, or even for more snippets of it to be posted on your site. Many thanks for these wonderful reads!

Oh, and I almost forgot! Your gallery is just marvelous. I had despaired when I could not find Lynd Ward's illustrations anywhere online (he's my favorite out of all the LM artists), but of course you had them. Thank you!

- Olivia

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Hello there!

I recently stumbled across your site on a random Les Mis google search, and I don't know how I hadn't discovered it before! After looking through your site, and reading the chapters up for Honor, I decided to order the books. That was a gamble, considering I have ordered both "sequels" to Les Miserables and was rather... disgusted by both books. But, I couldn't resist your series. I was especially thrilled that they focused around Valjean and Javert, my two favourite characters of Hugo's creation. And the premise of your works sounded so unlike other books, interesting and unique and enthralling!

Well, I received all three of the published works and am very happy to report my initial thoughts were indeed correct. I read the books in a day and half of the following; I couldn't put them down. Unlike the other two "sequels", you kept true to Hugo's characterization, a task especially difficult with such complex characters as Valjean and Javert. I cannot praise you enough for your treatment of the Valjean/Javert interaction.I also must admit I was weeping with Valjean while reading Adrift. Poor Javert! The only teeniest thing I was worried about was the Valjean/ Mere Adele plot. I just... I can't see Valjean with a wife, mistress, or female companion. The same goes forJavert.Your own characters are interesting and I am grateful to say not "mary sue-ish" in the least.

Anywho, I could sit and praise you all day for your books. Instead I will stop here, and end with two simple questions. Is there an update for Honor in the near future, and may I please get some spoilers before I pass out from anticipation!

Thank you, and I really do look forward to all future words and updates from you.

Ashley

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Hello,

I have just found this interesting website. I am an illustrator and I am now working on an illustrated version of the book. It would be interesting to have access to the gallery of images in order for me to stick better to the story and the original visual reference.

How can I view the gallery?

Thank you for your attention

Have a good day

Paolo Rui

(NOTE: again, why I added the extra link to the page...)

dear Mr. Rui

Thank you for your interest. The Gallery is accessible by clicking on the portrait of M. Gillenormand's daughter in the illustration on the front page. The illustrations are mostly arranged in the order they occur in the book. Many are older original illustrations. Others are taken from more contemporary children's book versions. Feel free to look around. I have many more to post at some point this year.

Thank you for writing. Enjoy the Gallery

Thank you very much for the great work you have done.

Once my book will be published, I might be able to send you the images (if you are interested in them). For the moment I have found some precious references that will greatly help me carry out a good job. Great story les Miserables... I had never had a chance to read the book before.

Have a great Summer

Paolo Rui

(NOTE: it's been over a year and a half since I got this letter... I'm thinking of seeing if anything ever came of this...)

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E N D  O F   N E W  L E T T E R S

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Dear Ms Harris,

I've just started to read the first installment of PONT-AU-CHANGE, and so far I'm loving it. The *command* you have over it all! It's rare to find an author this authoritative and, in the case of an AU, this convincing. Not only could this have happened, I want it to have happened! 

I've also just arrived at your website, and I see you're thinking of taking down the boards. I understand why (and also why some might be reluctant - not being able to post unless one's signed up with the board is a bit of a nuisance for those wary of giving their addys out just anywhere). What I was going to ask was whether you could at least maintain a guestbook on the site, so that those who've enjoyed the books could make themselves known to you.

Best wishes and thanks again for a terrific read,
Karen.

Thanks for the nice comments Karen :-) Basically if you want to write in and say hi, please do! I try not to do the guestbook thing because I've had too many bad experiences with people writing bad stuff on it that I didn't catch. Same with message boards. I can't police it all. So posting stuff submitted here seems to be my best solution.

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Blotter,

Just so you know, the link to the 1998 Billie August film doesn't lead to that page--it's another link to the '95 French film. If you could get this corrected, I'd be very interested to read your review of the Liam Neeson version.

Sincerely,
Kevin Pajor

I don't know, I checked the links and they're okay. Maybe I corrected these already? 

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from the email:

Hello, I am a big fan of Les Mis and am searching for sequels to read. I found "Cossette" by Laura Kalpakian and am currently reading it (and will order your books when I finish); but, I was wondering how many other sequels to Les Miserables have been published? I have read about another "Cosette" by a Francois Ceresa and may read that as well (eventually). I mostly love Jean ValJean and from what I can tell, your novels are the only ones to still have him alive (and as a main character) - is this correct? I don't know if you know the answers to my questions, but I was hoping so. 

Thank you, mordecai

So far as I'm aware, there are only three print versions of Les Miserables sequels: mine, Kalpakian's, and Ceresa's. Of the three, only mine follows Jean Valjean as an alternative ending. The others continue with Cosette and Marius versus what's left of the Thenardiers.

There may be other sequels on the internet, but those are the only three book versions I'm aware of. Kalpakian's is a single volume, Ceresa came out with two books and does not look like he will produce a third. I'm on book 4 of 6.