You know how it goes! This is where we find out who's saying what! The deal is, if you like it, write in and say so! If you don't, and you have a more constructive criticism to offer than "this sucks", write in and say so! I'm now instituting the time-worn policy of assuming that all letters to the Blotter (email address in graphic above, safe from spiders!) are intended for publication; if you don't want it published, say so! However, just because you email me, that doesn't mean that I'm going to print it. I'm only printing the ones that really interest me. Also, I reserve the right to edit (as in, remove excess verbiage), but I will not change text; at most I will be putting ellipses (...) where the deletions are, as per standard LoC rules. Oh, and I will not give out your email address unless you authorize it; I'm just printing the text of the letter, as below, with a screen name... or, since some have requested it, a pseudonym (denoted by quotation marks). Unless, of course, you write in and say "this sucks". In which case I will post your email address and let the other readers take care of the rest <g> (see below if you don't believe me).

In case you were wondering, I've weeded out some of the letters. Mainly ones that were repetitive of other letters, or letters that didn't add much to the overall discussions, or the shorter of multiple letters from regular readers. I have determined that printing all of them is kind of wasteful of time and space. Hope nobody minds.

Also, now I am linking this page to the Commentary page from Resurrections which had some cool letters that should not be discarded. You can access them through this link. As I get more general overview comments on the entire work, I'm going to put them in there, too.

Also, you may notice that I am now going to place a marker where the new letters end and the old ones begin, which will save you time that is better spent reading my book :-D

So, without further ado, let's open the mailbag and see what we get:

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note: some of this mail is old, and I apologize for it coming out this late. As some may have noticed, the last year was kind of a washout for the website... hopefully this year will be much better...

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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.

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Thanks back! So... anyone know anything about the 1972 version? 

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Thanks, Anja! 

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(the following is a composite from several different emails from the same person, while reading Adrift. Some spoilage may occur; be warned...)

I'm reading "Adrift" and I don't think this would have occurred to me if I hadn't just completed "Sanctuary" but...

In "Adrift" we're reminded that (in Les Misérables) Marius used to make his living translating things into French, INCLUDING English stuff. This implies that he was relatively fluent in English.

But in "Sanctuary" he makes two trips to London and can't find Valjean, largely because his English isn't good enough for him to ask questions. "Forgive me, I am not speaking the good English..."

In fact, "Miss Gardner" speaks French a lot better than Marius speaks English, but she's only been speaking French for a year or so and Marius had been working with English for at least five years.

What happened? Are you saying he could read and write it but not speak it, or what?

(yes, I'm saying exactly that... Remember that Marius has had practically no conversational knowledge of English. He learned it out of books the same way Valjean and Javert taught themselves; in Sanctuary it becomes clear on the trip over that they need help understanding dialect. Only after living in England and then Canada did Valjean and Javert become reasonably fluent, or at least comfortable, with English. On the other hand, Alison Gardner did not know how to read when she started learning French; she learned conversationally, or as it's done in schools, through the "immersion" method." So yes, she can speak much better French in a shorter time than Marius can English after much longer time, but be assured that Marius can read and write in English and French and Alison cannot.)

(...)WARNING: (spoilers ahead!!) 

I'm just up to "Norfolk in 1840" and am astonished at how much the book has changed -- how many additions have been made, for one thing. The whole story with the vicomte, for example, I remember little bits of intrigue from your draft, but I don't recall him sending the Marquis out of the house and I don't remember the whole thing with the police -- and certainly not the Guernsey house, although that's a cool addition. I loved that the three men -- the baron, the marquis and the doctor -- became great friends in this version, although that makes it rather heartbreaking that the doctor chose to break his association with the marquis, and also to take the exile. (The guy's father is a bigger dork than ever but of course you knew that.)

(end spoilers)

I'm having a grand time with this. Also recalling that your original "Adrift" was roughly 200 or 220 pages long, whereas this version is almost 700 pages. Holy cow, how it grew! I feel rather like I've missed the childhood of a beloved son. Don't let me fall out of touch again, okay? I have no desire to lose out on this again. You are a great writer, and I want to see everything you write.

(gawrsh *blush*)

(...) 

The value of dollar against the pound sterling in the 1840's.  Where did you come up with this one dollar buying five pounds??? I need the documentation on that one before I'll ever believe it. I've never looked further back than 1870, admittedly, but until the 1970's at least it was always the other way around -- it took $5 to buy one British pound. My last trip to London in 1999 they were still using pounds over there and it took $1.80 to buy one so we weren't even close to being on an even keel with them. I can't imagine the poor upstart United States, barely 60 years old, not a world power or even close, still on the gold standard and without much gold, going up against England and winning a financial war in 1840...?

Holy Cow! I got that bass ackwards! I can't believe it. I knew it was five dollars to the pound but I wrote it five pounds to the dollar instead... Fortunately I *did* get the rate of exchange between France and England correct. Only the dollar amount is wrong. So, in US dollars the amount of money involved is not fifteen thousand, but $375,000. And that's 1840 dollars, too. Hm! I'm going to have to write it into the next book that someone can't count :-D

And Hugo made more errors than I did, so pbpbpbpbpbpbpbt 

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Ms. Harrison, (yeah, well, close enough XD)

I'm not a *long-time* fan, having only discovered your web site while searching Les Miserables Fan fiction as a High School sophomore (I'm now a senior). I can't tell you how excited I am that the third book is soon to be published. I've been a fan of Les Miserables since my parents exposed me to the musical at the age of three. I've read some other sequels (notably Kalpakian's Cosette) and yours is by far the best I've read. Not only is it respectful and a worthy continuation of Hugo's work, it is in and of itself an incredibly fascinating, engaging, and interesting. I received Sanctuary last year for Easter, and stayed up that night reading it cover to cover. I don't read the books online because I love that absolute focus of an all-engaging book. 

(and that's why I go to the hassle of getting them put into book form. Me, too XD)

Keep up the good work.

Sincerely,

Caitlin G. (city and age omitted)

P.S. Les Miz is what sparked my interst in religion (I'm a religion Major, and my thesis paper last year was on religion in Les Miz), and your books maintain Hugo's attitudes impeccably.

I get more people who say that either their religious interests were inspired by LM or that their interest in LM was an outgrowth of their religious leanings. Interesting!

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oh, by the way, while I'm here... a quick primer on what not to do in a letter: Do not tell me your grand scheme for a book or a screenplay and ask me to read it or comment on it or whatever. For legal reasons I will NOT read your works. And people should be less willing to tell total strangers their ideas because remember ideas are not copyrightable and theft DOES HAPPEN. I'm flattered, believe me, but I can't look at your stuff. I have no authority or inside foothold to help you get your own project off the ground, so it's a waste of both our time to send it here. I am Random Person With A Website. 

What's more, don't ask someone to read your work and give a critique if you haven't read THEIR work. For all you know I'm a worse writer than you are, so why are you sending me stuff? Why the heck does my opinion matter to you, unless you're just looking for praise and validation? In which case, the benefit for me is what, again?

And finally, while it is true that I do appreciate corrections and additions to some of the other things I do on this site, such as the Gallery and the Media Checklist, and have put in corrections and credited them as such, there are some people whose attitude drives me up the fricking wall. Just because you saw something I didn't that doesn't make you my editor, my manager, or my partner; just because I don't correct the page RIGHT THIS VERY MOMENT it's not an invitation for you to email me ten times to "remind" me. And I have a life outside this website, too. Some of the reviews are not done yet. They have placeholder pages until I get the time and the inclination to do them. "PAGE UNDER CONSTRUCTION" means exactly that. I will get to them when I get to them. If you're so concerned about completion, get your own damn website. 

Okay, back to business. To my regular readers: I have now changed the "I will print every letter" policy the Blotter used to have, specifically because of this. Yeah, it would have been fun for you to make fun of, but I'm not giving them any more attention than absolutely necessary.

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okay, this was an email I got from a non reader, but it's got some relevance since I do get asked about stuff like this, so I'm sharing it with the rest of the class:

Hi,

A friend on an Internet forum mentioned you when I posted asking about writing critique groups online. I write primarily science fiction & fantasy, though I have written some poetry also. I attend one in real life, but it's for all genres and I think that a more specific group for my genres would help.

I've tried Google, but it's sometimes hard to know how active and helpful a group can be without joining it first, or at least lurking there for a while. I'm on Live Journal (ID deleted for privacy) but I haven't yet found any really good LJ crit groups either.

Do you have any recommendations?

(my original response, to which I have nothing really to add:)

Hi back

Actually, I'm the last and worst person to ask about writing critique groups. I have never liked them and find them non-useful and counterproductive. This is of course just my personal experience. I do know that many writers find them very useful and supportive. But I've always found my own internal editing system to be the best critique. That, and every time I discuss something I'm working on with another writer they go on to swipe my ideas.

I would however like to offer a suggestion that if you're in a group of people you're comfortable with, stick with them. It really doesn't matter if they write in different genres. Writing is writing. The only difference between the genres is what you plug into the plot formula. And I would think that you would get more solid critique of your writing style and construction from commentors who are not writing in the same genre, since they wouldn't be inclined to focus on the bells and whistles over the substance of structure that sf-fantasy readers tend to do.

Hope this helps, sorry I couldn't be more specific with recommendations. Like I said, I'm not really the person to go to for this stuff. Good luck with your writing and I wish you well with it.

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I got this email last May, shortly before my website crashed and burned... I had printed out a hard copy but I am unsure, on reading it, if I have ever responded to it or what the heck I said. All I know is it never made it into the Blotter, and I have just now unearthed it from my jumbo box o' reference notes, so I do not know if a) the piece ever got written, or b) what grade it got (sue me, I'm curious!). I am hoping the author will contact me and follow up on this. And send me a copy if there is one. This kind of stuff tickles me silly :-) 



Dear Arlene,

I've been a devoted fan of "Pont Au Change" since midway through "Resurrections," and recently finally acquired the funds to purchase both books. I'm eagerly awaiting "Adrift," especially since my Internet pooped out midway through and by the time I recovered, the book was already off the web site. Last I knew Valjean and Javert were on a barrel in the middle of the ocean...NOT a good place to have been dangling the last year or more!

well, here they are again... "hey, this is where I came in..."

I'm writing to you for a number of reasons; firstly, just to express again my heartfelt admiration of your work. It's been so long since I was able to read your writing that rereading "Resurrections" and "Sanctuary" was an ephiphanic experience; I plowed through both in a matter of days (much to the chagrin of my professors) and have been returning lovingly to certain passages ever since. Are you still seeking donations for publishing "Adrift"?  (...)

nope, I'm good to go... my sister gave me the money out of an inheritance she got, so Adrift is covered. But thanks!

I wanted also to express my sympathy for all of the problems, personal and technical, that I see from your website have been plaguing you. I'm certainly hoping and praying that things are currently going better and continue to do so.

Yes, they are thank you :-) hope the same for you...

I wanted lastly to inform you, as a courtesy, that unless you object I'll be citing your website and the forward to "Resurrections" in something I'm working on for an upper-level course in Literature Theory, looking at the fine line between homage, plagiarism, "fanfiction," etc and how it relates to the concept of originality in literature. It was your foreward in "Resurrections" that got me thinking about it, actually; if I ever get to expand it into an article for publication, which I'm hoping to do, I'll let you know :) If you do object, let me know and I'll remove any references; at this point the only people who will have seen it will be me, my professor, and whichever English-major friend I impress (in the War of 1812 sense!) into editing it for me.

my recollection is that I emailed back and said yes, but because of the screwup with the host at that time I have no idea if that answer ever made it...

I hope things are going well with you, both personally and professionally; "Pont Au Change" has been easily one of the best literary experiences I've ever had. I recently spent a semester studying in France and spent an entire day in Paris explaining "Resurrections" and "Sanctuary" to a fellow Hugo fan from the states; maybe I'll give her "Resurrections" for her birthday :)  Than you so much for everything you put into this, and don't give up!

Sincerely,

Danina

Thank you!

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I had to update with this thing. May I just add that this does not change my mind about charter schools being any better than public ones... at least public schools are held accountable by someone other than their investors. And now, drumroll please...

Hello,

I was hoping you could help me out. I downloaded the questions to the Les Mis quiz you have on the oddities page of your site. Do you by any chance have the answers. I now am teaching a class where I have to test them on it and do not have time to read it. Thank you,

Oscar Manriquez

note: I have edited out his email address, but posted his name. I hope someone googles this.

MY FIRST, OFF THE CUFF RESPONSE:

Hello back!

What I don't understand is why you're giving a test on a subject about which you know apparently nothing. Are you substituting for someone who originally assigned the test? If so, don't they have the key? If you don't have the time to read the book, there's these things called Cliffs Notes that have many of the answers. Anyone who's even seen one of the many movie versions can at least multiple-guess their way to a C on this thing.

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Hello, I just recently found out that there was a version starring Gerard Depardieu - who is one of my favorite actors. Les Miserables is my favorite book - hence a sense of desparation! My daughter is starring as Eponine in a local production, and I just made all the "hero" costumes for the production. Do you have ANY idea how I might get a copy - someone to trade with perhaps? This is the first time I have run into brick wall after brick wall in trying to find a source - and I have been fairly successful in getting rare "made for TV" type productions! Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. 
Gina Threshie 

This email's from September of 03. I don't recall what my original answer was, I think I referred her to the person who got me my copy and let them wheel and deal amongst themselves. I still don't know if there's a commercial version available yet. I'm so out of the loop. But thanks for writing! :-)

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Good Lord! You're back! I was starting to think the project had died--oh Woe was me! Lo and behold someone said "Hey, did you know someone's writing a new series" Yes, of course I knew that, who in thier right Les Miserable mind wouldn't, but, her website disapeared! And then, miracle of miracles, on a whim, I plugged in the addy and WOOT! There it was! Sorry, I'm just so excited! ^__^ Can't wait til Adrift is available! Thanks once again for donating your precious and personal time to achieve this very ambitious and wonderful project! ~Eliot James. 

This one's from September of 03, too. I wasn't quite as back as I'm now, and of course Adrift still isn't out, but other than that... Thanks! 

Followed by...

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Arlene, are you still out there somewhere? I know you probably don't remember me. That's okay. ^__^ I was just wondering how you're doing, and letting you know that I gave a copy of book 1 to Mr. Randal Keith yesterday, as he's an avid reader. (If you don't know, he's the current Valjean in the tour of the musical.) Anyway. Let me know how you're doing. ~Eliot. 

I got this one in June of 04. Randal Keith has "Resurrections." Wow. Yay. Thanks!

Followed by...

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Actualy I'm not sure what "snarky" means. Anyway, *whines* when can I get book III, Arlene? I'm dying of suspense! ;) Would a donation help? I have some extra bucks that would otherwise be spent on booze--which I don't need. (Books I DO need.) XD Hope all is going well, otherwise. *nods* ~Eliot 

From August 04. Donation? Did someone say donation? ;-)

Followed by my original answer:

>Subject: Re: Snarky snarkness > > >Nah, please don't shut up. I like to be reminded that people actually want >to read my books, it gets me out of the "oh who cares, no one's reading it >anyway" doldrums. Thanks to you and a couple of other people I'm starting >to pull it together to get this one done. My goal is to finish my series >before JK Rowling finishes hers (Javert vs. Voldemort. No contest :-) ) > >Thanks again > >Arlene 

Followed by answer to answer:

*Laughs* Javert Vs. Voldemort--the fangirls would go nuts. I shudder to think! And, Hooray! I helepd! Now I feel special. ;) Hehehe. Keep in touch, let me know how everything's comeing and of course, how you're doing yourself. ^__^ ~Eliot 

Followed by... well... heh... If you haven't seen this yet, be afraid...

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I found the reference to the game of marbles, in "His Frontiers," the fifth chapter in Paris Studied in its Atom. Whoo. Any one who, like ourselves, has wandered about in these solitudes contiguous to our faubourgs, which may be designated as the limbos of Paris, has seen here and there, in the most desert spot, at the most unexpected moment, behind a meagre hedge, or in the corner of a lugubrious wall, children grouped tumultuously, fetid, muddy, dusty, ragged, dishevelled, playing hide-and-seek, and crowned with corn-flowers. All of them are little ones who have made their escape from poor families. The outer boulevard is their breathing space; the suburbs belong to them. There they are eternally playing truant. There they innocently sing their repertory of dirty songs. There they are, or rather, there they exist, far from every eye, in the sweet light of May or June, kneeling round a hole in the ground, snapping marbles with their thumbs, quarrelling over half-farthings, irresponsible, volatile, free and happy; and, no sooner do they catch sight of you than they recollect that they have an industry, and that they must earn their living, and they offer to sell you an old woollen stocking filled with cockchafers, or a bunch of lilacs. These encounters with strange children are one of the charming and at the same time poignant graces of the environs of Paris. 

This is dated August '03. I've fixed the Gallery reference. Unfortunately I have no idea who sent this to me. Sorry! Thanks for the info!

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Hello! I was looking for the cast of the 10th Anniversary Concert, and somehow came across Pont-au-Change, and saw that it's a continuation of Les Misérables by Victor Hugo. I have some questions: 1) Can you give me an explaination of what you mean by, "the continuation of"? Does that mean we hear what happens to Cosette and Marius after Valjean dies? What is Pont-au-Change about? 2) I've never heard of Pont-au-Change before, and I'm a huge Les Mis fan...is it new? 3) Is Pont-au-Change available in bookstores like Barnes & Noble? 4) About how long is each book? I can't wait to hear back from you...thank you so much! ~Amkii *who is VERY obsessed with Les Mis* 

Another from August of '03. Answers are of course 1) Yes, I can; yes, it does; it's about six books long 2) it depends on what your definition of "new" is 3) Bookstores, probably not, but their online stores like BN.com and Amazon.com, yes 4) see question 1. Welcome to the Les Mis Obsession Club, Amkii. We have jackets! ;-)

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I love this exchange :-)

Dear Sir,

Marvelous site.
I take it the illustrator of the Russian edition is unknown, but can you give me the exact title, date and publisher of this book. He must be one of the better Russian artists of his time.
Many thanks.

Best regards,

Dick Briel
Amsterdam

Hello! 

Thank you for your nice comments. These are some of my favorite  illustrations also. I cannot read Cyrillic so I don't know who the publisher is. And apparently this is from neither of the editions I personally own; I can ask my proofreader if she was the one that scanned those images for me and if she remembers where it came from. If I come up with any answers I will email them to you.

By the way, I'm not a sir, but thanks anyway :-) 

Arlene C. Harris

Hello Arlene C Harris,

Sorry about the Sir business But what a pity ... Girls in shops, cats on cars, dogs in rain: SIR! Even men in suits. No, not that. 

Thanks in advance for trying to find out some hooks to identify the artist. I desperately like to hunt down the name of this illustrator. The drawings are so good - by far the best of all the miserable (ha!) illustrations - it could be Valentin Serov (1865-1911), who was a brilliant Russian artist. This cover I couldn't find on your site, maybe you can use it. The artist is French, René Giffey, who lived from 1884 to1965, and this is regarded a classic bande dessinée from the late 1940's. I didn't scan it myself, I stole it. <http://www.classicscentral.com/introduction.htm> Best regards, Dick Briel 

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Hello!

Just want to say a big thank you for all that work. I am afraid I aint got any pics for you to add. That was actually always my problem: I have a wonderful copy (german,Verlag Volk und Welt, 1959), that is, wonderful to
me as I got it from my granddad when I was, I think, 9 or about and always loved this volume. But it hasnt got any pics except Hugo' s portrait on the first page. I know there are lots of "nicer" varieties out there, bu tI never wanted another copy, even tho I was interested in the illustrations. ( After all, I am a graphic designer;)) When I found your site, I found all the pics I was looking for. Thanks a lot again:)!

Well, I wrote quite a lot for you to read, maybe I can compensate this with a little help. With the pic "the game of marbles" in the Marius "section" you say you cant find the reference. I like this scene quite a lot really: its in Chapter V / His Frontiers / the 3rd column from the bottom (I hope you say it like that in english
:-o) unless there are differences between german and english columns, but I hope not!

Hope you dont mind me writing,

Alexandra Funken

From May '04. Weird that not one but two different people can locate the Marbles picture. Maybe I'm missing out on one of the great unsung scenes of Les Mis? Hm.

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and now for something completely different. Or not:

whoohoo! good to see it coming back!

first, the obligatory gushing: pont au change is absolutely awesome. i'm sure you've gotten an incredible
number of emails telling you that over the years, but... well, what can i say? they were right.

i've glanced at it on and off over the years, rereading whenever the les mis bug bites me again. it's just great. i have no idea where to start saying how great it is... i don't think i ever got jean valjean before you wrote him. glancing over les mis again for the first time in several years i notice that he's a cooler character than i always thought, but yours was the first thing that ever led me to believe that. before that, he always seemed like a saint without much in the way of flaws, and that was so boring. you make him both very human and very very good: a saint i can believe in. the fact that he and javert need and build off each other does wonderful things for both characters.

the style of it too... very very hugo, but avoiding all the potential badness attendent on pastiche: the thoughts and interpretations in it are new and interesting, modern in some respects, but complementing rather
than jarring against the original this is THE sequel to les mis and i'm looking forward to the next
installment.

and now, the part that makes this email reasonably unique:

illustration!! whee!!!
on the basis of pont au change's awesomeness, and the excellence of the fact that it is coming back, i drew a scene from it... see the attachement. i didn't compress it all that much, so as not to lose too much quality, but do whatever you want with it.

the scene, of course, is on the bridge with the handcuffs: 'i buy your life with iron'

(inked in ballpoint pen and colored in photoshop, if you're curious)

heh. enjoy!

~Noel Dwyer

Handcuffs: 45 francs
Blue greatcoat: 70 francs
Silver snuffbox: 150 francs
The look on Javert's face: priceless

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Dear Arlene:
Just finished you second book. LOVED it. I especially loved the parts relating to the Canadian wars and the Vermont experiences.

I could just feel the cold and the snap in the air. I loved the way Marcel and Mignon got thru the sentry lines. VERY reminiscent of "His Best Weapon."

I'm looking forward to the next one.

They are getting even better with each writing. I didn't think you could top the first one, but you did.

Love, Mom

*sigh*

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Thank you for your wonderful Gallery page that I'm dying to view. Unfortunately, when I try to click and view, I get a message that the page cannot be found. Help, please!

Thanks, Jana Hinkley

Yes, the Gallery has problems. Somehow during the move between website hosts, the files are no longer in the same case-state as they were. So the links are pointing to lower case files but the images got labeled in upper case. I directed people to right click on the link, find out what the filename was, and then hand-type in the file name in all upper case. To be continued:

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I thank you so much for your response. I've been able to view about two-thirds of the illustrations, I'd say, and they were quite helpful. I am costuming the musical Les Mis that has just been released for non-profit school performances. The music is the same as B'way, but we don't want to copy the B'way set or costumes! I decided to go with illustrations for inspiration, and yours is the best collection I've seen.

Thanks, Jana Hinkley

You're welcome! To be continued:

---------------

Dear Gallery Maintainer:

At least 60% of the links in the Gallery index lead to nowhere. For instance, the link "Cosette under the table" (a picture I would really love to see) links to http://www.pont-au-change.com/Gallery/2g10.jpg, which is a non-existent page, for Internet Explorer states that "Thispage cannot be found-the page you are looking for might have been removed, had its name changed, or is temporarily unavailable". I know that the page is not only temporarily unavailable but permanently unavailable until something has been done because I could not access the picture the for the past one week.

Regards, Adler Ma

(my original response) Seems the file names are all in uppercase and the links are in lowercase. To see the picture of Cosette Under The Table, go to http://www.pont-au-change.com/Gallery/2G10.JPG (note upper case letters in filename). Do this with any of the links you want to see and they should come right up for you. Apparently some browsers can adjust for the different cases, and some can't. I will get this fixed at some point after my surgery. Thank you for bringing this to my attention.

(note: I have fixed this before my surgery. Yay for me. Until...)

Dear Arlene Harris:

The upper case strategy works for the pictures of interest of me (the Russian pictures turned out to be quite eccentric) except for one- "Cosette ne put s'empecher de s'écrier: O mon dieu"- http://www.pont-au-change.com/Gallery/C08.JPG which you (or another gallery maintainer) states as being the "cutest picture of Cosette". Please check the correct formatting of this particular image file. The reason I would like to obtain some of these pictures is because I am doing a report on Les Misérables and its characters and I discovered that your gallery is the most comprehensive one of Les Misérables illustrations (most other online Les Misérables galleries are filled with photographs from the musical, which I don't like). Thank you very much! Regards, Adler Ma

Since I'm the only Gallery maintainer, that would be me. :-) Problem is now fixed, link works. And thanks.

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finally, something NOT about the Gallery!

Hi Arlene,

The other day I went to see a French silent movie, Les Misérables of 1911. It was very interesting. It was shown at the Finnish Film Archive. Because the movie was silent, there was really no sound, no music. You could hear only the audience, which for the most part was absolutely silent. The movie was 2hours and 20 minutes. The story had to be very much cut down of course, but no more than the musical. Jean Valjean was a sturdy man, and seemed to be already middle aged (30) when he stole the bread and was caught. He escaped from the hard labour (stone work) confinement after five years. Javert looked like taken directly from the first illustrated Les Misérables book. Big, but not as big as JVJ, big head, bushy black sideburns, which stayed black even when his hair turned gray (the wigs were ridiculously clumsy). His face also like the one Victor Hugo so vividly describes in his book, and he always held his arms crossed over his chest. In my opinion he was made a clumsy clown. Fantine was very short time in the story, and why she was caught by Javert was not clear for one who was not familiar with the story. Her death was overacted. The Thenardiers had two children, Eponine and Gavroche, no Azelma. Gavroche was about six-eight when he was first seen on the screen, helping his mother and father along with Eponine. Their house did not look like an inn, no sign board, no guests. Ten years later Gavroche was still with his family, and he really got older, contrary to the Gavroche in the newest French film. Little Cosette was very cute and natural. The scene with the doll Catherine was included. The time at the convent passed quickly. As a sixteen-year old girl Cosette looked very much different from what we have got accustomed to. Closer to 26 than 16. She had a beautidul bent nose and always her hair on a bun. Marius looked plain and his wig was the worst of them all. The revolution was depicted about as in other movies and the book, but had to be quite short. Thus the individual insurgents were not named and for an unfamiliar person they were just a crowd. In the Paris of this movie all the houses, even JVJ's fashionable house, looked ramshackled. Broken plaster, cracks, dirt. Realistic, I guess!

Cheers,
Carita Nybom
Helsinki, Finland

oh man, like I'm not already behind on my reviews... I'd love to see this and put it in the review section. Odds of it being on video are probably between slim and none. (however, if anyone has an interesting version of LM on DVD, I now have a region free player so I can play DVDs from Europe and Asia. So anyone who wants to loan me anything, hint hint :-) )

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Hello! Firstly, I would like to compliment your email address, ejavert, that's kind of funny. (Javert was my favourite character). Secondly, and most importantly, last year some time, I visited your site and looked at your gallery- it was wonderful. I was still reading the book for the first time then, and your gallery really went along well with it. But now, I went back looking for a specific picture of the Rue de la Chanvrerie, so I went to the gallery again. It boasts nearly 600 pictures with only 2 broken links- but the truth of the matter is that MOST of the links are broken! I'd like to thank you for the hours I've spent in your gallery some time ago- it was time well spent. But, now, I fear, other cannot.

Thank you for your time, Mark.

Aaaargh! Okay, got it fixed. For reals. Would I lie? :-)

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Arlene,

I am a professor of philosophy at a small state supported university in Kansas--Pittsburg State University. For several years I've devoted a segment of my Ethics class to the episode out of Les Misérables where Jean Valjean learns of the plight of Champmathieu and struggles to decide what he is to do. I use the episode with two goals in mind: to illustrate and to criticize Utilitarian and Kantian approaches to ethics. It has proved to be one of my more successful exercises in the class.

I've never taken the time to seriously research the historical and philosophical background of Hugo's novel but over the years I've collected a number of the various renditions (comic book, radio, film, musical) of the story. (I saw the musical for the first time in September, in Kansas City.) I am writing this message as a note of appreciation for your informative, enlightening, and entertaining web page. In the future I will invite my students to visit your page.

I wonder if you have considered including in the "Media Comparison Checklist" a comparison and discussion of the French and English versions of the music/lyrics (perhaps along the lines of your comparison of the French and English versions of the 2001 Josée Dayan production). As you are no doubt aware Relativity Records, Inc. has a CD available titled "Les Misérables, The Original French concept Album."

Really all of this babbling of mine is just to say thank you.


Don Viney

P.S. Your complaint about Hamilton on the $10.00 is well taken. Indeed, my brother tells me that Thomas Jefferson explictly said that the images of Presidents should not be put on American money; this is ironic in light of the fact that Jefferson's image was eventually put on the $2.00 bill and the nickel. Prior to the Euro, the French celebrated their literary and cultural heros on their money. Why can't we do that?

see, now why can't I get more letters like this one? :-) (and I am still waffling about reviewing the French concept album. I am still backed up on reviews, but I may get to it one day.)

...Hey, my Grandfather likes your book... said it would make a great movie. We'll have to order the second one pretty soon, I did see it on Amazon. And I will read it next, even though I only made it partially through Les Miserables...

Rene

Rene is one of my old BofA coworkers, one of the best things that happened to me while I was locked in Dilbertland. Her hubby John came to work at the old telemarketing company I used to work at. They're both great people. And obviously taste runs in the family as well.

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Hello, Arelene,

Sorry to be so late with this reply.

My helping friends are Siru Pitkanen, who´made me aware of the book and got me one or two of them, the last ones in the stock. Tuula Hurskainen mailed the book to you when she got to know your address ad I already had gone to Canada.

Thanks!

Carita

Carita was the one that provided me with the Finnish Scrooge McDuck version of Les Miserables that is in the review page. I meant to credit her friends awhile ago for the assist, but it never happened. It's happening now. Thanks, people!

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Hello Arlene:
I just got finished reading Sanctuary (I just now got my hands on it) and I must say that it was VERY well done. I loved the combination of adventure, humor as well as sadness. I like Javert's emotions throughout the book and especially towards the end. I also liked how the other characters relate back to Jean Valjean and Javert. I was so engrossed in the book that I didn't even notice the rock music playing above me, and that's really saying something! :) Anyhow, I'm looking forward to book three and I'll try not to wait 4 months to get it. (lol) till then, 'tah.

P.S. Arlene, have you ever considered turning your books into movies? Your books are really great and some of the scenes in these past three books I could really see being played out on the big screen because they are so wonderful. Just an idea *ducks*

Gabrielle Javert

hm, that's the second person this time around saying that it should be a movie! Hmmm!

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Dear Arlene Harris,

Hello, and how are you? Just found your website while browsing thru other websites regarding "Les Miserables". I'm interested in reading your book, "Pont-au-Change" but cannot find it in any bookstore or library in the Metro-Detroit area. Is your book only on sale thru the Internet? If so, why isn't found in bookstores? Thank you.

Donna Gonzalez

I emailed an answer back but I'll put up this one here anyway for everyone else: bookstores only carry books they know will sell. They have finite shelf space. So rather than waste it on a book they don't know about, they'll stock it with 500 copies of Who Moved My Cheese? instead. Unfortunately, you can't get known if no one buys the book, and no one buys the books if they don't know about them... it's one of those catch 22 kinda things. Which is why WORD OF MOUTH is so important on these books! If you like it, recommend it, darnit! Both Amazon.com and BN.com have review capabilities on their sites, and the Pont-au-Change books are listed on both of them.

But of course if you don't like it, stay the hell away from Amazon and BN. :-)

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let's start off with something short and to the point:

Hello,How are you? I am really fine. I just visited your website and that's really cool. Victor Hugo is my favorite writer.

Jacinthe

Victor who? ;-)

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Bravo! *g* I somehow didn't think you'd stick those two in "Moby Dick," but then again... Once upon a time I did a school report on the book, so I've at least heard of Melville's other works, and am immensely fond of "Bartleby the Scrivener".

On the other hand, I have to differ from your opinion of "Billy Budd". "Billy Budd" assumes a moral, rather than a practical, bent; the ending there is a religious allegory with Claggart as Sin or Evil and Billy as a virgin sacrifice. So far as I can remember, "The Cold Equation" avoids that pitfall and makes the reader ~think more because of it. Billy would not have died without Claggart's hatred, but only circumstance dictated the fate of the stowaway*.

And on a purely personal note, Melville sentimentalized and idealized Billy Budd to such stomach-churning extremes that I wholly sympathized with Claggart and still regard him as the only interesting part of the entire novella.

*I'm bad at titles, but I'm pretty sure I've matched up that one with the appropriate story. Who was it by, though?

-Mer

I had to look it up... the author of "The Cold Equations" is Tom Godwin. Yeah, I can't think of anything else he wrote, either...

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The plot thickens in your work.... Now upward mobility for assassins--good thing Javert is in America or he might have a stroke trying to take Monparnasse's rise calmly....

You "snookered" us all but good with that last bit of your tale! Very enjoyable--but then, you knew that, didn't you? Never trust an author who posts on April 1st.

--Amy C.

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Hi Arlene, remember me?

yes!

...Oh, by the way, i think i may have a copy of Resurrections without your name on the cover. Is that on the front cover, or the spine - mine has no name on the front, but it does have it on the spine.

Yes, that is one of the "nameless" covers. If my name is on the spine, but not the front cover, it's one of the first run copies before they fixed it. All the ones coming out now should have my name on the front cover. Just so everyone's clear on that.

I'm watching EBay to see when one of the "rare misprint" copies goes up for auction... that will be a scream!

Well, I guess i'll just have to muddle through somehow until Tuesday - though living on the other side of the country from you does make it rather difficult when you post later in the day! Thank you so much for writing this book - it's tremendous fun and has been an inspiration to some of my own fiction...

*gawrsh* :-)

Your number one fan (one of the many, i'm sure!),
Miriam G.

Actually, that's kind of funny, because that's how I've been autographing the book :-) I mean, "to my number one fan." I'm not signing Miriam's name :-D

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and of course, the obligatory:

Arlene is brilliant in her writing, she never ceases to amaze me with her amount of research and eloquent abilities! Pont-au-change is one of my faves and I wish Arlene the greatest luck in the universe as she slaves away in my basement in the coming month and lives off of....donuts.

Arlene's Goddaughter,

Laura

Actually, the office isn't in the basement... other than that, though...

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hello

first of all, i want to thank you for your site, it's a favorite book of mine and i also like to compare the film versions of it.

oh good, it's not just me... I was worried...

i have to tell you you made a mistake, however, when reviewing «les miserables»- 1978 tv version, with Richard Jordan, etc. When you state that Angela Pleasence is the daughter of Donald Pleasence... that I don't know. But I do know that the dentist in the «Marathon Man» was not Donald Pleasence. That role was played by Lawrence Olivier.

D'oh! (slap forehead) Okay, me to fix...

Relating to Anthony Perkins accent, i really can't notice any particular accent to disapprove, and, in fact, he's much much better than Geoffrey Rush in the role (in my opinion this version is better than the recent movie they made, with Liam Neeson).

I like it too, and between the two versions the Perkins one certainly keeps a bit closer to the real story... but the one thing that keeps me from loving it is that darn accent. I can't get over it... Tony Perkins is one of my favorite actors ever and also co-wrote one of my favorite movies of all time, "The Last Of Sheila," with believe-it-or-not, musical maestro Stephen Sondheim.

I hope you don't take this comment badly. And check out the Marathon Man dentist error- Donald Pleasence starred in Halloween, Great Escape, etc.

thanks for your dedication to the book

David

no, thank you for pointing it out! I encourage people to find stuff I made mistakes with! Boy do I feel goofy, though, mistaking Olivier for... Pleasance? :-)

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Hello Arlene,

I was very suprised to see your review of CBS Radio Mystery Theater's Version of Les Miserables. The episodes were broadcast from 1-11 to 1-15-1982 to signal Mystery Theater's ninth season on the air.

I got hooked on the series in 1980 when I was 10 years old. The episodes that you received from Mr. Resendez were the copies I made way back then. I have to say that this series was responsible for much of my education and developed my interest is the performing arts.

Now, you do have some legitimate beefs regarding this version of Les Miserables. But, let's face it, there is only so much you can do over radio, especially with only 52 min. per night and a shoestring budget at that. One good thing about this version (and the entire series for that matter) is that it introduced these characters to a far greater audience and at least gave us a working knowledge of some of the great works. MY Teacher flipped when I said I was going to do a book report on Les Misrables, when the guy who sat next to me was doing his on "The Little Engine That Could", And in later years, If I hadn't had an interest in the classics through CBSRMT, I would have bought the Cliff's Notes and sluffed through it like most did. Also, Alexander Scourby, who played Jean Valjean was the first to narrarate The Bible on Cassette tape. Yes, this was before Mr. Heston. When I saw "Pulp Fiction" for the first time I only knew Amanda Plummer as Cosette and it blew my mind that she was "Honey Bunny"

oh, now there's an image I needed! :-D thanks!

Just wanted to share with you my personal experience with this series, and wish you the very best with your book...

Best Regards,

Michael Anthony Stahl

Thanks for writing in! And thanks for clearing up the air dates for that one! I'll update that page as well...

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(... re: the 1988 Animated Les Mis...)

...Thank you for your kind words regarding our adaptation. We tried our best. As you know, the book is longer than War and Peace. The animation studio was new and had no experienced animators so you are dead-on.

If you have any questions about this version, just ask us.

Thanks again,

Al Guest & Jean Mathieson

Writers and Directors

I swear, I get so many cool people cruising by this site... thanks!

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(and this one... I can't wait, I just can't wait till I get my hands on this one...)

Dear Arlene,

Thanks for all the information about the book. I think I will make try in our own big bookstore, they order books from everywhere.

Did you know Walt Disney has made a pocket of Les Misérables? I have seen it in Finnish and Swedish, and the original was in German!

By "pocket" I mean a comic book in pocket book size. This one contains other stories as well. I don't have it in my hand right now, but the name of the LM-story is "The magical candlesticks". I don't remember the names of the characters, either. Most of them have other names than in Les Miz, but you can recognize them, of course. Anyway they were different in the Finnish and Swedish versions. Only Javert, Myriel and Gavroche have their original names. The cast is:

So, have I mentioned just how cool the people who visit this site are? :-)

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Excellent work! I've been enjoying Pont au Change since the 1st book was up :) and am looking forward to the next installment. You are managing to keep up the flavor of the original, even to the neat chapter titles and interesting digressions and I like the way that minor characters such as Sister Simplice and Azelma and her brothers have returned to the story (although I'm sorry you killed off Azelma--I was enjoying wondering what would become of her). Congratulations on reaching pre-production for the first book. I'll look forward to seeing it on bookstore shelves (or webstore shelves).

One item in the last installment deserved critical comment. Your historical background has been very good and I've been enjoying your introductions to the background issues of the story, but you might want to check on the bit about maple syrup. My understanding, based upon conversations with people in the New Hampshire maple producers organization and upon study of domestic matters of the 18th and 19th centuries, is that maple syrup did not become popular until about 100 years ago. Before that, the sap was further reduced to sugar and sold in cakes or bricks. Maple syrup spoils unless it is kept refrigerated and before airtight methods of sealing were developed and iceboxes became common and/or reliable, the sugar made more sense. The sugar is a gourmet item now, because it takes so much more sap than syrup--I think it takes about 2 quarts of syrup to make 8 oz of sugar, but I'm not sure (the man at the maple booth said the progression was syrup to candy (?) to maple butter to sugar). On the other hand, it makes things much easier for Gideon Byrne--he would not have to try to find glass bottles or a method of sealing them and transport said breakable materials back to his home over rough roads or deer trails, but could purchase paper to wrap his bricks of sugar.

Most recently, I saw a bit about maple sugar in the Old Sturbridge Village Cookbook, edited by Caroline Sloat. If you ever have need a quick source on early 19th century cooking, try to find this one--it includes original texts of the recipes (from Lydia Child's American Frugal Housewife, 1832 ed.), modern explanation of the recipes with instructions for hearth and modern cookery, and an introduction to cooking methods, ingredients, utensils &c. The cup cake recipe is tasty even when burnt (one of my first efforts at campfire cooking at an 18th-century reenactment...).

Anyway, good luck with your teaching and writing! PoC is great fun and is turning out more and more like a 19th century novel with 20th century readability (for those without experience with 19th century writing, I mean--get those Dickens fans off me! ;)).

Amy C.

Thanks for resending your original comments, Amy! I have taken the matter "under consideration" which means that when Sanctuary comes out in book form, the section may be a little different than in the original version...

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Dear Arlene:

Well, it's been an incredibly, amazingly long time since I last talked to you. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't remember who I was, or what I was talking about-- and if that's true, I certainly don't blame you.

In any event, congratulations! I just dropped by Pontauchange.com (for the first time in ages, I'm ashamed to admit) and found the link to the publisher's site. Good for you. I'll certainly be buying the books as they come out-- I'm really very happy for you.

Also, I wanted to thank you. I don't know if you check Yerf.com, or how closely you still follow the anthropomorphic fandom, but I've become a fairly successful artist. One day, a week or two ago, someone asked me who had introduced me to the fandom. After a long diliberation... I realized that it was you. You were the one who looked at my old anthro-Javert picture and suggested that I submit Women in Fur, II. And I did. And I got printed. It started snowballing, and things are going very well art-wise for me. To make a long story short, I just wanted to say 'thank you'. I went to Anthrocon in the summer-- my first Con, and loved it. I'll be going back, of course. (If it intrests you, check out this link and tell me what you think.) I may, eventually, do some anthropomorphic versions of scenes from PauC... unless you'd mind it. Let me know. :)

I hope you're well, and again, I'm really happy that Pont Au Change is being published. Must have been a real kicker! :)

Take care,

Amy (Or whatever I used to call myself... Katia? Whitewhisker? I can't remember. *sheepish grin*)

((Oh... here's a link you might like. Anthropomorphic Broadway art. You may have seen it already, but I LOVE most of the Les Miserables stuff. links ))

Thanks lots for the links and the update! Glad your exposure in WIF2 got you going!

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Dear sir or madam

I have been reading your review of Les Miserables, the 1988 animated version by Emerald City Productions. As one of the animators on the movie ( and I agree with all your comments, we were all very inexperienced animators at the time ) I just want to point out one inaccuracy in your review, you state that "this is a British production, by the way" This is incorrect, the film, including all pre and post-production, was done in Emerald City Studios in Dublin, IRELAND.

I Hope you will correct this error.

The Voices by the way were done by the RTE Players, a group of people who do the voices for all drama productions on Radio Telifis Eireann, the national radio statio.

Thank you

Aidan Walsh

Thank you for letting me know! I have corrected the entry for that version to reflect this new information.

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Hi!

My friend told me about your Les Miserables site, and I enjoyed reading your description of the 1952 version of the film, which doesn't seem to be available for viewing anymore (either on television or home video). I have a Website about Robert Newton, and I put a link to your page on my site. If you'd like to see my site, the URL is ="http://www.rit.edu/~sxd6221/newton/

I especially got a kick out out of your "Hooked on Classics" paragraph. There are a couple of things you might want to add to it though:

* You said, "he was Bill Sykes in the 1940 Oliver Twist," but I think you might have also meant to mention that he also played Jock Sykes in Soldiers Three (1951). (He's listed as "Jock" Sykes in the credits, but the other characters keep calling him "Bill"!)

* He plays Jim Mollison in 1941's "They Flew Alone" (a.k.a. "Wings and the Woman") and a character named Bert *Mallison* in 1947's "Temptation Harbour."

Thanks for your page!

Susan

Thanks for the link! I'm returning the favor here. It's amazing how people find this site, and through what search keywords...

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Hey Arlene,

Well, PauC ~finaly showed up in the BookMaster at the B Dalton where I frequent, so I tried to order it, the order was cancled by the publisher...what's going on? I can't get the book! I ~need the book!

Help!

~Eliot.

For everyone who ordered the book to have it cancelled, that had to do with the book being pulled off the press to fix the cover. Check your orders and see if they've been automatically resubmitted, if not, then you'll have to put the order in again. Orders placed now should go through, that should no longer be an issue.

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Hi there,

This is Mariano. I am a teacher of English working at the University of Buenos Aires, and at present I am working in a project called LISTENING ROOM: Exploring the world of Les Miserables.

I would like to know if you happen to have any web address where I can get teh full script of the 1998 version of Les Miserables, starriing Liam Neeson.

Looking forward to hearing from you soon,

Mariano

as I wrote back, I don't know where to get the script for this, but I'm posting this here so that anyone who DOES know can email me at the Blotter and I'll forward the information to him.

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I'm a longtime fan, so I apologise profusely for not writing sooner. I intended to print out the new section and read it on the steps of 55 Rue Plumet in Paris, but the Rue Plumet stops at 21. New constuction, or an oversight of Hugo's?

As far as I am able to research, Hugo never gave Rue Plumet an address. Number 55 is the musical's address. But unless it's one of those never-was addresses like 221B Baker Street, I'm guessing it got mowed down by Hausmann's renovations in the 1850-1860's. Damn him anyway.

...I thought this tidbit of French history may be interesting to your readers. Many people know that Hugo was a friend of Vidocq (reformed crimnial who became an esteemed Parisian police officer, for those of you who haven't read part one. Perhaps Hugo was the original Mary Sue, writing himself and his friends into the book.(-: )

As I stated in my Introduction many moons ago, of course Hugo is the original Mary Sue. Marius is not only an alternate form of his own middle name (Marie) but it is also a phonetic anagram of Mary Sue (Mari Su). Many of the things attributed to other people in LM were actually things that happened to him. And, for edification, some of the names of the Friends of the ABC were in reality named for his friends. As a boy in boarding school, one of his friends was named Joly.

Anyhow, this reformed criminal was in charge of breaking up the 1832 revolution of Les Mis fame. It was his idea to send in spies, dressed as students and merchants, to attack the barricades from within. Sneaky little bugger - he was indirectly responsible for the deaths of Grantaire and Enjolras and everybody. (yes, my rational mind keeps telling me that they are fictional characters...) So that means that Javert, a police spy, would have been working for him. I just have this morbidly funny mental image or Javert taking orders from somebody who bears a striking resemblence to Valjean. No wonder the poor guy wanted to kill himself! I hate to nitpick Hugo, but that was just too funny.

Javert's had "issues" with Vidocq before... as when he was reading Vidocq's memoirs and nearly ate the book :-) Still, he took it with him to England...

Thanks for a wonderful book that's given me endless fodder for history projects,

Caitlin

You're welcome! And thanks for writing in!

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this came about because of some pictures credited to the Gallery, where I backtracked the link and found a really nice site devoted almost exclusively to the Luxembourg Gardens...

...thank you for having that image gallery on your site. It's entertained me many times. I haven't had a chance to read Pont-au-Change itself yet, because I don't want to read any of the later parts until I've read the first part...which means I suppose I have to wait for the book to come out...but I'm looking forward to seeing that when it's published. You rock.

Thank you.

"Ursula"

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OK, OK...

Uncle Mead's Les Mis illustrations might not have been his best work. All his art is cherished in my family except the one Les Mis in our possession: the riot scene, which can find no home except my parents' basement. Even illustrations from such Dodd and Mead Co. duds like The Wreck of the Grosvenor are hanging in bedrooms.

And yes: I'd never noticed it before, but that is a rather peculiar lamppost. He was always facing tight deadlines -- perhaps it really was destined to sprout leaves.

Cheers,

Mead S. Gruver, Jr.

Well, first of all I'm guessing the S stands for Schaeffer :-) and second of all, if you really really hate that picture I'd be glad to take it off your hands for you, really, it's no trouble at all....

And for everyone else, the image with the lamppost in the Gallery is the one I described as Vladimir and Estragon in "Waiting for Javert," the first link in the gallery. The riot picture referred to is called, The band increased at every moment.

Finally, here's an excellent website for learning more about Mead Schaeffer's Artwork

Thanks for the great letter! *beam with pride*

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And what a section it was! Ohhhhh, YAAAAAAAAAAAAY! (spoilers omitted)...

And Cosette. What a woman. GO COSETTE! ... the words "heart" and "Javert" in the same sentence means trouble. (And I *know* you know that, Arlene...) ... I'm so happy for Valjean, who just gets more and more adoptable every post...

BRAVO!

As usual, there's more I could rant about, but I will endeavor to stop now. Thank you for another great section, and I'm resetting the countdown 'til the next one. Geez I love this story!

I remain your most devoted servant.

"Simplice"

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this is in reference to one of the previous Notes To The Administration wherein I outline the discrepency regarding Marius and Cosette's stated wedding day...

...I knew that Hugo was wrong about the 16th being a Tuesday but I hadden't thought of the Lent aspect! That is a REALLY cool! point!!

But here's some connection I myself I have yet figurered out. Hugo's Daughter Léopoldine was married on the 15 th of Feb. some years after Cosette and Marius. I wonder to no end why there is a difference of one day. Was hugo forgetful or was it just a wild couincidence?

Sheyna

Just to let everyone else in on this: Léopoldine, the favorite daughter who drowned with her husband seven months after her marriage on February 15 1843, was the turning point in Hugo's life. Everything he did he divided into "before" and "after" the date of her death. It is likely his grief, and his subsequent stifling protectiveness of his surviving daughter Adèle caused her to go mad; she was the only child to survive him, and lived out her days in a sanitorium. It is said that he really began writing Les Misérables in earnest after her death, that that was the catalyst for his grief. Also note that drowning is a major motif in all of Hugo's later works, not just Les Misérables but also The Laughing Man and Toilers of the Sea. It might be said, in some passages, that Léopoldine's shadow is over Les Misérables, it is a presence, an unseen character in and of herself. The character study of Cosette at her morning routine, wherein we are informed that "the reader may... be introduced into a nuptual bedchamber, but never into the bedroom of a virgin" was a character study of Léopoldine; we also know that Hugo agonized for months at the thought of "losing" her to marriage, hoping the suitor would just go away. We know, because Hugo left notes on the subject, that he placed Marius and Cosette's wedding day on the very day that he consummated his 50-year affair with Juliette Drouet. However, it would not surprise me if he put a little of Léopoldine and her husband Charles Vacquerie, the brother of Hugo's "head disciple" Auguste Vacquerie, in the occasion as well.

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Hi Arlene,

Well how ATROCIOUS of me to not have emailed you sooner. I do believe there has been two installments since I've written, and I'm sure to lose my First One to Email Arlene After Each Segment and Gush position if I continue to be so delinquent.

Well, we're back from France, and quite honestly I've had a hard time coming back. It was two of the best weeks I've ever had, and I'm rendered a bit speechless trying to tell friends and family how it was. Hence my denial about being back again. We thought of you SO MUCH! The family that we stayed with had 'Net access, and we were able to get on long enough to print out the section you posted (a few days afterwards). We took it with us that day and read it on the steps between Pont-au-Change and Pont Notre Dame, then two drunk guys came over and bothered us so we hopped on the Metro and finished it in the Luxembourg gardens. I wish I could've emailed you right there and then but the family was out of 'Net time. Arlene, it was so much fun, and we were transfixed. And so again I must thank you for writing this amazing story, because its spirit was with us the whole time we were there!

The night before we left for Paris, a wonderful friend of mine took me to see the Scarlet Pimpernel here in Minneapolis. *What a marvelously fun story!* I'm so happy for you that you found that old SP parody that you'd been looking for. Would I love to see that! I started Tale of Two Cities while in France, as well. Not that I'm a bit into 18th -19th century France or anything. Sheesh, what's gotten into me? Do you ever wish you could just LIVE there, back then, just for a few weeks or something? I don't know why this period of history fascinates me so much, but it always has.

A toast to the last two sections (Cosette has TWINS! Yessss!) -- I hope you're doing well. I'm nail-bitingly looking forward to the next post.

Showers of Blessings,

S. Simplice

(I'm too honored to have this alias now...she just keeps getting more and more admirable!)

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I think it has been--yes, I'm almost positive--nearly a year since a friend pointed me in the direction of your site, and your ongoing novel. It shames me that I haven't written before...

but you're writing now, so you're forgiven :-)

I can only echo what I've seen that many others have already said--it's wonderful, impressive, enjoyable, really good writing. I enjoy every new section posted to the fullest, and eagerly anticipate the new posting that comes each month (roughly). You've said that you have the entire plot planned out from beginning to end--I think that awes me more than even the quality of writing. I style myself a VERY amateur writer of fanfic (yep, and I agree with you--about 90% of what I write should have stayed unwritten), and I cannot fathom knowing exactly what is going to happen to every character at every moment in the work: but I suppose that's what separates the "men from the boys", so to speak, or in this case the serious professional writer from the college student who writes as a release in between class assignments. ;)

To comment on the latest entry in "Notes for the Administration"--specifically, the comic book crossover...

::laughing hysterically::

I don't know when I've heard of a more hilarious parody. It must have been a gem to read . . . and the most funny thing of all is that I some time ago, on a whim, began a SERIOUS crossover of Scarlet Pimpernel and A Tale of Two Cities (I'm the sort that reads a piece of literature and immediately gets an idea for a story based on it--I think it's a disease), and that anecdote you shared was really a light in my own face, showing me what I'm in danger of writing without knowing it, and what I need to AVOID. (I thank you for the warning. :))

There is nothing new under the sun... so make sure they remember your version, not the other guy's :-)

Congratulations on the publishing contract! Such a finely-written novel (or series of novels) like this deserves publication. (I was disappointed to learn I couldn't go back and reread "Resurrections" anymore, but I certainly plan to buy a copy of it in print as soon as it comes out!) To rave a little more about the novel itself...you've captured the characters exactly like I've always pictured them, or if you haven't, I see why I was in the wrong before on certain characters. (i.e., I never pictured Cosette as a very strong person, but these newest sections are proving otherwise.) I envy your talent, to put it bluntly; every element of your plot fits together like pieces of a puzzle, without gaps or missing parts, and it's so intricately planned it's as if Hugo meant to write this long ago and never got around to it, and you were just lucky enough to find his plot notes. (Who knows, maybe you did--we'll never know ... ;))

As always, eagerly awaiting a new part to "Sanctuary"...

Jennifer J.

the difference between me and Hugo is that I'd have dived in after the trunk :-)

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dear arlene

I visited your les mis homepage and was really fascinated, it is sooooo great :) I have a homepage myself with some pictures from the book, would you mind, if I add some from you, cuz you really have a lot!!! I would give you a special tribute, i hope you won't mind

lea

PS: HAPPY EASTER!

No problem! And when I get a chance to check yours out, thanks for letting me grab whichever ones you have that I don't!

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Hi ; I really appreciate the page with the different versions of Les Miserables. I knew I had seen an animated version of this film while I was a child. Thanks to you, I can watch it again, if I feel like ordering it.

I have some comments on your review of the 1998 film.

1. I agree with your assessment of the actor playing the bishop. I believe he was trying to convey 'muscular Christianity'...the idea that being a believer doesn't make someone weak and wishy-washy. But he looks more angry than anything else.

Still has nothing on Cedric Hardwicke, that's for sure!

2. Once again, Uma Thurman ruins a role. SHE CAN'T ACT. She destroyed that Batman movie, the Avengers movie...WHY do producers keep casting her?

Because she's a big name and draws people in.

3. I don't think Valjean was acting out of hatred when he bashed Javert's head against the wall. I think he was understandably outraged at the unnecessary emotional distress inflicted on a dying woman, but he was primarily concerned with knocking Javert unconscious so he could escape. Least that's how I interpreted it.

Good point!

4. I agree with you wholeheartedly on the suicide scene. I wish the director had added a passerby who, upon seeing Valjean getting ready to go into the water, grabbed him and said,"No, the current is too fast ; you'll drown too." Or something, I dunno....that ending bothered me too.

Forget the trunk... I'd have dived in after him... :-)

5.I think the main problem with the film is the director's decision to change the plot to accomodate 20th century attitudes. In the 1860s, Victorianism was at its height. Prior to that decade, some of the more relaxed attitudes of the 18th century still survived ; from the 1870s on, Victorianism was dying. But while it survived, authors portrayed 'good' lower class people as asexual, submissive, and nonrebellious. Bad poor people had sex drives, were violent, and wanted to overthrow society as a response to economic deprivation. OK, that's a little broad, but these attitudes can be seen in Dickens, Stowe, Hugo, and others. Hugo felt obliged to make Valjean as 'Christly' as possible, to the extent that the chapters from Javert's suicide on are nauseating. (Or at least I found them so.) So the director added a romance between Valjean and Fantine so Valjean's celibacy could be attributed to a romantic desire to be pure for her till he's reunited with her in heaven. The anger he shows towards Javert might have been threatening to Victorians, but a modern audience would consider it more like righteous wrath. (Doesn't it look like Valjean's 'thinking about it',after he takes Javert from the barricades, prodding him with that rifle and asking," Why can't you leave me alone?") All to make the character more believable to a modern audience, who would believe a LACK of anger a sign of emotional disassociation, and which would see a lack of a sex life as sufficient reason for speculations re: a psuedofreudian 'slash' mentality.

VERY good point!

6.Favorite silly scene: When we see Cosette's face, and we hear Faunchelevant making that comment about a beautiful nun...she's not looking her best, and the darkeyed nun we see after is much more attractive. (Yes, I'm catty.)

Again I point out that "Cosette" is the most popular name in France. For cats. :-)

7.Most brutal scene: this is from memory, so I may get the lines wrong, but the gist is correct:

Javert : "Why don't you go ahead and shoot me? You must hate me."
Valjean : " I don't hate you...I don't feel anything at all about you."

That's the cruelest thing a person can say to their obsessed stalker.

Kinda like laughing at a flasher, isn't it?

8.Stupidest scene : speaking of obsessed stalkers, if a person is stalking you, and they send a note accusing your teen daughter of sexual adventures, would you
A. Think, "Oh, s--t, he's on to me , and is messing with my mind."
B. Or would you take it for granted that the note is accurate, and slap her?
Even if the note is meant to show more of Valjean's puritanism, it doesn't seem logical to me. I hate this scene, too. And it could just as easily have been a love letter from Marius that he found.

Again, botched script interpreted by a bad director.

9.I do like the way Javert's apparent death wish was shown, first with Cosette's remark about his eyes having no life, then later on in the barricade scene when he suggests Valjean shoot him. There's a fair amount of that in the novel too, when he suggests alternate ways to kill him to the student revolutionaries, so at least the director picked up on that theme.

Javert has a death wish only Sydney Carton could envy...

It was watchable. I think I'll rent the others from Blockbuster, if they're there.

As to the rest of your site : I'm reading and enjoying your sequel. I understand that you can't post part one, but would your publisher mind if you posted a synopsis or outline, so those of us who didn't find your site till earlier this week can get 'up to speed' ?

I hope to have some kind of synopsis put up about the time I finish "Sanctuary." Because when I remove that one I'll have to put up one for that, too.

I've read the novel 4-5 times, and each time I wondered if Hugo's phrase "gypsy race" was meant to be interpreted literally or,as a figure of speech, meaning simply wanderers like the Thernardiers. I read that France required people of Romani/Gypsy heritage to use internal passports until 1970. I'm not sure, but to me that suggests that they would not be eligible to join the police in the first place, being as it were aliens rather than citizens. On the other hand, Hugo was fascinated by these people, using them in both Notre Dame de Paris , and The Man Who Smiles.

Hugo's lietmotif in a nutshell: Gypsies, deformed men, and drowning.

In any case, I look forward to reading the rest of your novel, and I'll be purchasing the book when its published.( There was an article I read recently, gleefully predicting that Amazon and all other booksellers would go out of business, because everyone would prefer ebooks. NO WAY! Reading books over the net is nice, but nothing will ever replace the joy of holding a new book, finding a book you've wanted for years...besides, who would take a computer into the bathroom and set it on the edge of the tub and read it while taking a bath?)

I will not be found dead of shock from reading an EBook in the bathtub! That's just wrong!

Thanks again,

Diana Anderson

PS. Post any of this you want, or none of it.

I'm always glad to post insightful commentary that isn't mine ;-) Thanks, and happy reading!

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And now for something COMPLETELY different! I laughed so hard I lost a lung! To retain the original spontaneous flavor of typing this fast, I did not change any of the typos. Have fun!

Dear Arlene,

By some very strange twist of fate, I have very little schoolwork this week, and thus am spending a lazy Sunday afternoon having my emotions played wiht as if they were toys while reading the latest part of Pont-Au-Change. :4) Since I was speaking to a friend while reading it who finished it just before me, we kept up a running commentary on the AOL Instant Messenger..as the title says, if you happen to be bored:

Dewhurst92: You know there's a new update in Pont-au-Change, right?
Danina4God: ::scrambles for her bookmark so fast she trips over htemouse:: NO!!
Danina4God: ::sighs, happily reading:: It's Marius and Coslut, but STILL..
Dewhurst92: It's still good.
Danina4God: It's wonderful. ::igles:: Poor Coslut..Toussaint just doenst' know when to shut up.
Danina4God: Ohhhhhhhh. Does she remember the Thenardiers?
Dewhurst92: I think, only as a bad dream . . .
Danina4God: But, I mean, now..does she figure it out..
Danina4God: It says it in the book that she forgets, of course. All but represses it.
Dewhurst92: ::Shrugs:: Not sure.
Danina4God: She at least knows Fantine's story, now.
Dewhurst92: ::nods:: Right.
Danina4God: ::gigles:: I'd forgotten she didnt'..he tells her her mother's name and that she suffered on his deathbed, which doesnt exist (yeah!!) in this story.
Danina4God: ::gilges:: Poor Mariwuss. Comes home and finds his wife hystericizing. Bummer.
Dewhurst92: ::laughs::
Danina4God: ::Growls:: SO B/C OF STUPID LITTLE BAMATABOIS THEY COUDLN"T ANSWER THE LETTERS AND THEY BROKE MY JEAN"S *HEART*!!!!!
Danina4God: ::feels it incumbent on her to getup and storm around growling for several minutes before returning to read:::
Dewhurst92: ::nods:: Right. I hate him.
Danina4God: "In truth, his is not a lovable personality..~"Triumph of the Scarlet Pimpernel. :cackles:: Go Mariwuss! Throttle the jerk!!
Danina4God: ::chokes:: did I really just cheer Marius?
Danina4God: ::decides it's alright since she DID call him an insulting term in the cheer::
Dewhurst92: Well, just be careful . . . ;)
Danina4God: ::giggles;: Okay, okay, I'm all for romance..but this scene is just a LITTLE tooc heesy for me, but that's Marius and Coslut... I'm sorry. the phrase "He nuzzled her cheek."...
Dewhurst92: ewww. ;)
Danina4God: ::gigels:: Well, it works with noone but Mariwuss and Coslut. Their romance is sposed to have that Sweet-Verging-On-Vomitous touch.
Dewhurst92: Yeah . . . that's why we can't stand it.
Danina4God: ::chokes and seizes Jen's hand:: If Cosette dies in childbirth..I will kill someone.
Dewhurst92: Be strong . . .
Danina4God: ::coughs:: Although if she dies in childbirth b/c she's not taking care of herself b/c she's depressed about her daddy, it will be SUCH poetic justice on Mariwuss...
Danina4God: ::gigles:: He gets kicked out of her bed for the stodgy nurse. Le pauvre.
Danina4God: Agh! Now Gillenormand's sick too!
Danina4God: I liked him! "By heaven, those devils murdered him!" "Murdered who, monsieur?" "Andre Chenier!" "Of course, monsieur."
Danina4God: ::Screams as she approaches the chapter entitled"The Sacrifice and the Reward":: SHE CAN'T KILL HER! SHE CAN"T!!!
Danina4God: It will KILL Valjean!!!
Dewhurst92: Strength!
Danina4God: ::whimpers:: She does it, doesn't she? Otherwise you wouldn't be telling me to be strong, you'd be reassuring me. :;sobs::
Danina4God: ::collapses happily:: Oh good. Oh good. And twins, too. Lovely. He can name them Jean and Jeanette.
Dewhurst92: ::giggles::
Danina4God: ::giles:: Oh. Two girls. Jeanette and Jeanne, then.
Danina4God: ::sniffles:: Aw. How sad. I LIKED Gillenormand. ::brightly:: Ah well, all the more room for Jean! ::is still in total denial, convinced that he's going to whisk back across the ocean and take up that nice little room Coslut talked about and prune roses and live happily ever after with his children and granddaughters::

God, I swear I have the best readers EVER...

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Hi!

I am a faithful reader of Pont-Au-Change, returning to the site sometimes two or three times per day to see if you've updated; the sight of the "last updated February 18" is galling to me! :-) I have recommended your book to a few of my friends, and have told them that it's written by a woman with as much talent as the original author.

Anyway, I've been reading your Checklist, and you ask for corrections. You probably have gotten these already, but in the 1935 version, a) There is a scene where Valjean and Cosette see the convicts going to the galleys (you left it off your checklist) and b) There is an escape attempt, which is why, in this movie, Valjean is given a yellow passport.

Other than that, I've never found an inaccuracy in any of your writing - and I'm the type who's watched every version of Les Mis that I own at least 100 times (no exaggeration!) I love your book, and it inspired me to read the original again. Thank you for doing this, and know that it's appreciated by a lot of people.

M. G.

Thanks for your nice letter! I love printing letters from first-time writers! And thank you for reminding me about those bits in the March-Laughton LM; I will update the page to reflect the corrections.

Especially thank you for not finding anything wrong with my book. As the saying goes, you can't please everybody, but that's okay, I'm not writing this thing for them anyway :-)

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Hello again Ms. Harris,

Thanks for writing! I love saying "hi" to new readers! I am curious as to the one thing you didn't like about the way it's set up, though... I hope it doesn't detract too much from your enjoyment of it.

No didn't detract at all. To answer your question, I can't picture Marius having enough sense to figure out on his own that JVJ has a criminal past. I will admit though, that comes from my dislike of Marius. I have trouble picturing Marius with enough sense to get out of a paper bag.

(part omitted)

Read the good news on the site this evening. Congratulations! I'd actually went to reread the scene referenced above before answering this e-mail. Although I wasn't able to reread that part, I was happy to hear Pont Au Change is being published. Trust me I know at least 3 people who will be buying your book.

T. B.

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Hi!

I was just looking at all the new illos--Kewl! Well. My real reason for writing is that I found some new illos. But I don't have the book. I was visiting my grandparents this last weekend and they had one of those old Children's Book of Knowledge (I think that's the title) well it had about 8 illos of Les Mis, a couple of them were QUITE good, Javert looked weird but we can't have everything. Unfortunately I couldn't nab it or get photocopies. So I just though I'd let you know where to look. Sorry I couldn't be more help.

As for the illos in general. I really believe that none of the illustrators had a clue. Jeanniot was the only one to prouduce anything truly good, though at times he gets too bright or cartoonish. But especially the really older ones are HORRID, it's nothing but plastic dull Victorian art

plastic Victorian. I'm sorry to interrupt, but that is a great phrase if you think about it... just thought I'd mention that :-)

ie. de Neuville, Brion and Bayard. There are quite a few really bad newer-styled ones as well but the Victorian-styled ones annoy me for some reason. Though there are quite a few good ones in there.

I've taken too much Art History!

Sheyna

Good commentary! Does anyone else have an opinion on the illustrators, past or present, good or bad?

and now, the response to the response:

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...My impression was that it was an annual childrens book series, kind of like World Book. This set was from 1857 I think and had about 12 volumes. I would try a library in the children's section. There might be a new one that might have something, but probably not the same images....

I agree with you, Jeanniot did the best job on the illos overall, but Bayard was Hugo's first choice, and presumably that's because those are the ones that are closer to Hugo's vision of what the characters look like. The only thing I'm not too fond of in the Jeanniot pics is Marius's little pencil-thin mustache.

None of the Marius ones were very good and ocationally he went over the top with the Apollos knots on Cosette's head. In some of them it looked like she was wearing fruit loops! But that one of the Bishop showing Valjean to his room! LOVE that one!

sheyna

Oh, and if anyone has any idea about where to locate the book mentioned above, please let me know. I can always use more illos!

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Bonjour Arlene,

Hey, how are you? Errr...Comment allez-vous? Guess who's trying to learn a little French before she goes to Paris? I let my friend do the honors of telling you about our trip. We were so excited to tell you! *We want to smuggle you along with us.* Of all the people that deserve to go, it's you, not me. We'll be thinking of you so much. Let us know if there's anything else we can try to pick up for you or anything.

hmm, where to begin :-)

So the first book is off the site now! I'm so excited to see it in print that I frankly don't even want to think about it, because the thought of waiting that long makes my stomach go in knots. I'm not sure on any etiquette with this, so I'll apologize in advance for any breaches, and go ahead and ask. Do you suppose that when it comes out, I could get my copy autographed by you and maybe even the illustrator?

Autographed? Moi? Yeah right, like that's gonna happen! Just kidding...

And it seems you're happy with the illustrations, yes? Do we still get to see some of them before it gets published? That was my civil way of asking. And now for how I really feel: Oh, Arlene, do we still get to see some before it gets published huh?huh?huh? I'm dyin' to see that art!

Ahem.

(...)

Well, just wanted to check in. Take care! Hope the teaching is still going well.

"Sister Simplice"

as soon as I have any preliminary sketches, or any bits of art, I will post them on the site as a preview. I have no idea when that will be. I'm not rushing the artist at all (well, not much, anyway) so it'll happen when it happens...

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Hello again Ms. Harris,

I just wanted to let you know that I am quite impressed with the new section of Pont Au Change. I was just curious as to why Jean &Javert had to move to Canada....

They had to go because if they didn't they'd have to sit out the rest of the book :-)

... Anyway, I bought the 1935 version of Les Miserables , and I must say that I was very dissapointed at the gentleman who played Javert. He said "um" alot and he voice was very flat and unexpressive. I did like however, the scene were Valjean (Fredric March I think) let him go. There was a lot of expression in that scene. (I won't say anything about the ending because there might be people who hasn't seen it yet) But I did like your review of it, and I'm REALLY enjoying your novel. Don't let those people who crticize your work get to you, I think you're doing a SPECTACULAR job. Keep up the TERRIFIC JOB!!!

--sklmg

It's great to hear from you again... thanks for writing back and I'm glad you're still enjoying it! And as for Charles Laughton, you either love him or you don't; don't feel that you have to accept his interpretation of the character. I will say though that, comparing all the movie versions of Les Misérables I have on video, his Javert is pretty darn good (although Geoffrey Rush looks closer to the part, the screenwriter's heavy-handed misogynist interpretation makes that movie very difficult to watch... and Anthony Perkins... well, there is that accent....)

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Oh, well, this is embarrassing.. I had not one but two new "just found your site, wow" letters, but I've lost them. :-( Sorry... it's been one of those millenniums....

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first, the good one :-)

Ms. Harris,I commend you on your comparison page. I've seen a few versions and have read the unabridged novel and I can agree with you on many points. Especially the review of the 1998 version. I must admit that I laughed quite a few times while reading your thoughts and opinions of it. The fact that you are probably the only other person, save my wife, that agrees that this film was (is), simply put, merde. I have the Bridgestone Multimedia version and your review of this is also exact. I feel that this version is very close to the novel. If it is of any interest to you, I purchased my version of Orson Welles' 'Les Miserables' through the Old Time Radio catalog. They are the folks responsible for the productions of 'When radio was.." on many AM oldies stations.

Thanks for pointing that out, I know a lot of people have been looking for that version, since I gushed about it on the Media page :-)

Query: I am correct in assuming that I can print out your novel for personal reading?

yes, you may. It may be printed for off-site reading; that's one reason I post it 10-20 pages at a time, for easy printing. But making multiple copies is a big no no.

Query 2: Before I commit the paper, approximately how many pages long is it?

I kinda anwered that one above. The whole thing is going to be, um, big.

(I cut the other questions he asked, they've been asked/discussed elsewhere)

...I only ask these questions because I have yet to read your novel in progress. I have only visited your WONDERFUL comparison page and Oddities page. I apologize for my prattling. Thank you for your time and wonderful site!

FGP

Thank you for your nice letter. I am glad you enjoyed the Media page, and I hope I'll hear from you again after you've tried out the novel. As for prattling, naw, this isn't prattling! You should read some of the other letters I've gotten! :-)

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and now, the bad one. Which I sent around to some longtime readers for their reactions. Which follow the original letter.

you suck!!! ha ha ha!!! aren't you so embarrassed! i would be! Bridges of Change! ha ha ha!!! Didn't you consider the fact that someone , or anyone who read the book would be changed forever and terribly insulted (or ammused) upon reading your "sequel"? I just laughed and laughed and laughed!!! At least I can thank you for entertaining me tonight!! Oh funny funny funny.....

"Catherine Marie Sheridan" <cmsheridan@bigpond.com>

Embarrassed? No. But you should be ashamed of yourself. Someone who professes to have been "changed forever" by Hugo's book cannot have gotten a crucial central theme if this is the kind of correspondence you engage in. One of Hugo's great themes was that people judge other people, and things, on outward appearance, not on their own merit--and that such summary judgement is wrong. You literally cannot judge a book by its cover. By that same token it is clear you have not read a single word of my book; you didn't even get the title right. I won't even bother to mention your lack of writing skills and your inability to use either capitalization or punctuation correctly. And there's only one M in "amused."

Having failed to grasp this simple concept, and having no personal experience with what you condemn out of hand, and having no writing ability of your own and therefore unable to be considered qualified by even the loosest standards to sit in critical judgement against my work, your letter means, to use the mathematical equation, diddly over squat.

It did however amuse (one M) some longtime readers. Are you embarrassed? You might be!

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This is from my proofreader, Trout, a woman who volunteers her time and energy to help polish each segment before it goes up on the site. She is not only a marvel of grammar and structure, but she has a prodigious research capability with extreme attention to fact-checking. I swear I have no idea what I'd do without her. She makes probably the best point of all:

Another candidate for the Darwin awards! Sheesh, you gotta wonder how that one crawled out of the pond under her own propulsion...

But what I really want to know is why the ones who say "you suck" ONLY say "you suck" and can never say "WHY" you suck? This is to me the most important component of critiquing anyone's writing, good or bad. You must say why it is good or you must say why it sucks, and the two bottom feeders who have said "you suck" have yet to give a single "because."

Oh well, you were tired of the gushing anyway, right?

Trout

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The second response is from Lindsay, who reproofs it after the page goes up and catches all the stupid little typos that neither Trout nor I can spot before it posts, apparently :-)

Re: Intellectual Critic of the Year

Yes, but did she laugh?

Wherever do you dig these gems up? They must be attracted to your resilent charm.

Point the First: Her convincing use of exclamation points has won me over. Not only am I insulted, I am terribly insulted. Give me some time, I might even become HORRIBLY insulted.

Point the Second: Maybe you should try to set her up with the Worf guy. Think of the conversations they could have...

Well, I might not have to get them together. After all, I posted both of their addresses....

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The third is from Druid. An old high school buddy of mine. He's rather, um, blunt. I've had to, um, retype some of what he said. But not much :-)

Hey A:

(earlier part of letter removed)... thanks for sharing the idiot hate-o-gram, made ME laugh! What does she think, that reading a book means you OWN it and nobody else can touch any part of it? Man, I should email her... but I'd probably get nailed for it. This is what I'd say: Didn't anyone ever teach you to share, b*tch? I mean, if a couple hundred of us who ALSO think a lot of LM also like P-a-C, and you don't,who's the one with the f*cking problem? Guess that'd be you, huh? Well EXCUSE US for rocking your fragile little world! You get your rocks off hatemailing people you don't know and b*tching about sh*t you haven't even looked at and don't know DICK about. Well f*ck you, Little Miss I-don't-use-capital-letters-cuz-I'm-e e-f*cking-cummings skanky ass c**t!!

I got a few more things to say but then you won't print my letter. You probably won't anyway,I kind of used a few bad words. But the ho deserves it.

Anyway, don't let her mess with your head. You're a fab writer, you always have been. remember you're the one with stories published in books. You're the one that accepted that writing award and had it shown on the Sci-Fi channel (still among the top three coolest things that ever happened to anyone I know, btw!) Trust me, the only way she'll ever get her name in print is if she's the victim of a serial killer,and the only way she'll ever get on TV is if "Cops" films her sucking off some john in the Dairy Queen parking lot. You go, girl.

Thanks, Eric. I think.

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I've decided not to edit out the spoiler in this one. If anyone who just finds this site reads all the letters first before reading the book, it's their fault.

Hail to the Great Author Arlene!

oh dear...

ahem...ok...sometimes I just can't control what I write, sorry about that.

okay... :-)

If you'll believe it, I do have a life, despite much evidence to the contrary. For example, what I'm about to write could very well be construed as fool proof evidence that I need to get out more often. The frightening part is that I do.

I noticed something, an interesting coincidence, in this novel. I don't know if you've noticed it. You probably have considering you have such a grasp on the old Master Hugo's attention to detail, but I thought I might bring it up anyway. The reason I think you may not have noticed it is because it was actually written by Hugo, and completed by you. It's an amazing connection between the two novels, I think. So, without further ado...

Javert entered the "prison" of Valjean's little cellar in June of 1832. After the duration of time he spent as Valjean's ward, while being nursed back to health, he was, in a manner of speaking, reborn. He emerged from this mini renaissance in February of 1833. The completion of this rebirth lasted 9 months. The strangest thing is, these were dates set by Hugo, and yet they fit so symbolically and so perfectly into your novel that it's hard to believe you didn't come up with them yourself. Perhaps you realised this long go, but I thought it quite an amazing coincidence, worth mentioning.

It forms a sort of ethereal link between your novel and Hugo's. Which isn't necessarily surprising, considering you've mastered so much else. Bravo, Arlene!

-Jamie

Actually this is a cool theory. I like it. Despite the fact that it's only eight months from June to February... but some people are just pathologically early ;-) Either that or Javert got time off for good behavior!

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To the illustrious Fransiscian Arlene,

Great, I thought it was great. Did I mention that it was great? If you would just add a few 30 page tangents here and there, it could pass for Hugo's writting anyday. Except for the Cosette's role, Hugo would never give Cosette a real, dynamic role. (Just sit there, look vacuous, good, good) I like how you've given characters who didn't have much role in Les Miserables more of a part, we've almost got all of the Thernardier kids, just two more to go, fun, fun, fun. I'm also glad you've continued Marius' role as an overardent sap, it's so @$#@ funny.... (spoiler deleted--reluctantly)

The brother of that insane student with the video cammera,

Keith

What can I say to that but thanks for the nice words, Keith! Especially since this letter got here after I put him in a cameo with a horse :-)

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Hey! I thought for a while I was the only Les Mis fan left on the web! Everybody else I have ever e mailed has said they quit working on their page forever ago! I love Pont-au-Change; I only hope I spelled that right... I speak English and Spanish, my language skills end there....

Sarah

No, we're still around... it's just that, unlike many others, I have no life; therefore, I am able to update my page at will :-)

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Hello,again! (I wrote to you once before about the 1952 movie version of "Les Miserables". :))

The actor who plays Jean Valjean in that E.G. Marshall radio version is very familiar to me,and his voice is familiar to millions--probably to you too. His name is spelled Alexander Scourby,and despite what you may be led to believe,he was (he passed away a few years ago) a reasonably good actor.

He never attained real movie stardom,and unfortunately,his most famous role is in that hilariously bad religious epic, "The Silver Chalice",where he plays St. Luke. He is most famous for his voice-overs in innumerable documentaries ("The Body Human", "National Geographic",etc.)and commercials, and several beautifully read recordings of poetry readings and Edgar Allan Poe (he really did have a beautiful speaking voice). His most famous stage role was as Cassio in the hit Paul Robeson stage version of "Othello" (1943).

Just thought you'd like to know. :)

Albert Sanchez Moreno

Thank you for the update! I am very familiar with "The Silver Chalice" (mentioned in the Golden Turkey book as one of the worst films ever, and for good reason!) but I never connected the two. Just goes to show you that good actors can make bad decisions regarding roles... for example, Lawrence Olivier as Gen. MacArthur in "Inchon." I have corrected the spelling of Scourby's name on my review. Thank you!

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And Now For Something Completely Different....

...What happens to Jean Valjen at the end of your story? I won't have time to finish it cause of all the projects I have going the second six weeks...AARGH, It's no fair, this is really killin me, cause you are an awesome author, and there's no way in this world I'd miss your book if I could help it... so if you have time, send me a little e mail and tell me what happened to Jean Valjean, PLEASE!

So sincerely it's not funny,

(anonymous)

I'm sorry, I had to print this. Because, well, it is too funny! I don't think I've ever gotten a "please tell me how it ends" letter before. I'm still laughing.

By the way...

No.

:-)

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Hi

I visited your site again and everything's working.

In the 1998 movie the young black guy you wrote about who is Marius's second in charge is actually Enjolras. He's played by a British actor called Lennie James (who I've seen in other things and is actually quite a good actor) and the credits on the Internet Movie Database list him as Enjolras.

Regards

Tracy-Anne

Great! Thanks for the info! I have updated the page accordingly! Jeez, the IMDB has more info on this thing than the official Press Kit does. What does that tell you about the movie?

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Ok, I'm finally going to write this. It's been a long time coming. Yes, yes, this will be another gushy message, but we must give credit where credit is due, and it is indeed due here. I have often had trouble with sequels (not everytime, it's not that I'm intentionally biased) because they tend to either miss the point of the original novel or they completely blow the original to bits. This makes me excessively excited to read that someone has done a sequel of my very favorite work of literature ever, and they've done it very VERY well! I've been downright giddy reading these postings! My friend and I count down until the next posting date! Hugo himself could hardly have done better! And this is a great retort to the blasphemy (hee hee! So I'm a little serious about the subject of Les Mis) of that "Cosette" that we've all heard so much about!

I think I'm just lucky. Your writing satisfies my pitiful reaction to reaching the end of a novel. I start to go through withdrawls, particularly in the case of Les Mis. Anyway, I'm just rambling now. I just wanted to say that you are awesome and now when people ask me what authors I like, I can add your name to the list! Woohoo! I think you have enough exceedingly positive reaction to completely crush the one negative under its well-deserved, praise-filled weight.

Gratefully yours,

Princess J

Hmm, I'm running out of cute pithy comebacks to adoring praise. Guess I'll have to stick with plain old vanilla "thank you!" Hope you don't mind... :-)

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Greetings, Arlene C. Harris. I'm writing to request permission to copy a few pages from your Pont-Au-Change site (probably the home page and part of the introduction to the novel-in-progress, maybe the links page) for a print handout to accompany my presentation at the November conference of the National Council of Teachers of English. I'm Associate Professor of English at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. My subject is the range of on-line resources available to teachers of literature. If you grant permission, I thank you in advance; if not, I'll simply list your URL and describe the site orally.

Optimistically,

Shoshana Milgram Knapp

Well, let me think... okay! :-)

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Dear Ms. Harris,

I am a person is also looking to be a writer, and am a Les Mis freak. I'M REALLY ENJOYING YOUR SEQUAL TO LES MISERABLES! (spoilers omitted, but she liked a lot! --ed) I got a little confused while reading the story and sort of skipped to the end of bok one, but now I get what's going on =)

My English teacher Loves Les Mis too, and can't wait to start reading your novel.

KEEP UP THE EXELLENT WORK!!!!

Lauren E.

Thanks, Lauren, and welcome aboard! :-)

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Dear Arlene,

How long have I been reminding myself to write this letter? Well, in any case, far too long..(Okay, I shall come clean. I've been meaning to write it since I first stumbled upon Pont Au Change halfway through the first book from "Le Pain".)

I most definitely have not even the foggiest idea of how to embark upon giving you a sufficient compliment...I can scarcely believe that your novel is not being written by Hugo.(Well, perhaps I can..there's a noted absence of digressions upon Waterloo and the Parisian sewers..believe me, their presence is NOT missed. :4) ). I am simply impressed beyond all words, and have sunk to a very low point when it comes to how often I fervently check the page hoping for even a new PARAGRAPH..."Danina, remember, it said on the page she wouldn't update for another three weeks." "But MAYBE..." (And my friends haven't the faintest right to preach at me, for I forced them at proverbial gunpoint to go and read it and they check JUST as often as me.)

I have now, I daresay, babbled on a great deal more than you were at all interested in reading, so I shall sum it up: *BRAVO*. I have never been impressed with such a piece of writing in my life(which, though short, has at least been well-read. :4) ). After reading a few sequels/retellings of "classics", there are a few in particular that seemed to be unmatcheable in terms of writing style, characterization, airtight plot, and overall faithfulness to the original work...well, you've left them all behind.

Yours in all sincerity,

Danina

Golly! Hope I don't fall off this pedastal... :-) although she DID point out an error in an earlier chapter that, while not exactly erroneous (I mean, I know what I was talking about, and that's the important thing) it is ambiguous, so I went ahead and fixed it. Thanks!

ps: ...Valjean is my favorite character and I've written many a story about him, so I'm ashamed to say I know something more than I should of his life...(To quote a friend, when my copy of Les Miserables is covered with figures that calculate his age at various points of the book(did you know Hugo at one point contradicts himself about Valjean's age?) we need to begin looking for a straitjacket in my favorite color.)

Good! I keep hearing from the Javert/Enjolras/Marius retinue, and I've been wondering of late if the Valjean faction was a bit shy, or a bit underpopulated... and as he's the de facto hero of the work it's kind of embarrassing :-) But to assuage the Valjean contingent, wherever you are, despite the current emphasis on Javert, Valjean will soon be getting more attention than he really wants....

And see? See? I'm not the only one going on about the age thing! Nearly drove me nuts but I figured it out... and hey, pick me up one in green, willya? :-)

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Dear Arlene:
I'm a recent graduate of a masters program in library science who has an undergrad degree in English Lit. I really enjoy your Les Mis pages! Though I've only read a bit of Pont