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Most people think that Les Miserables takes place during the French
Revolution, but this is not the case. Now, mention of the French
Revolution usually conjures up images of King Louis XVI and Marie
Antoinette recommending that hungry subjects eat cake before being led
off the guillotine. But neither makes an appearance here. In fact, both of
them lost their heads by 1793, while the events of Les Miserables don’t
begin until 1815.
The Monarchy
French Revolution ended the age of absolute monarchy in France, but
was followed by the Reign of Terror, a violent spell in which rival factions
dueled it out for power, resulting in the executions of nearly 40,000
people. What emerged from the rubble was an empire under Napoleon I.
A popular general, Napoleon Bonaparte came to power after a coup
d’état in 1799. He was made first consul, then consul for life in 1802, and
then emperor in 1804. But Napoleon’s dynasty did not last quite as long
as the monarchy that had come before it—his collapsed in 1814 after a
series of military defeats, including a failed invasion of Russia. He was
briefly restored the following year, after escaping from his island exile.
But his restoration was brief. Following the famous defeat at the Battle of
Waterloo, Napoleon was exiled once more—this time to an island much
further away.
But France wasn’t ready for a genuine democracy just yet. Instead the
country saw the return of the Bourbon monarchy through Louis XVI’s
younger brothers. First, Louis XVIII, followed by Charles X. Even then,
the revolutions were far from over. After elections in May 1830 resulted
in a majority unfavorable to Charles X, he responded by dissolving the
Chamber of Deputies and instituting repressive ordinances, which led
the people to ... revolt. During the July Revolution of 1830, Charles
abdicated in favor of his young grandson. But Charles’s cousin LouisPhilippe concealed the abdication document, and the crown was offered
to, what do you know, Louis-Philippe! He reigned
until another revolution dethroned him in 1848. Thus, France was still
governed by a king during the most tumultuous events of the book, even
though they take place nearly 40 years after the French Revolution
began.
Jean Maximilien Lamarque
Occasionally mentioned in the book, Gen. Jean Maximilien Lamarque
was a military hero of Napoleon’s era who was opposed to the restoration
of the Bourbon monarchy following the general’s exile. He became a
popular opposition leader during the years of the Bourbon restoration.
When he died of cholera in June 1832, there was much fear that the
population’s physical and economic well-being was in danger.
June Rebellion of 1832
Just as it does in the book, popular resentment and fear swelled
after Lamarque’s death. Opposition groups felt they had lost their hero,
and many, especially supporters of the Republic, were bitter and felt that
their revolution of 1830 had been “stolen” by those who had made LouisPhilippe the king. The feelings of resentment and discontent bubbled
over during Lamarque’s funeral, when a crowd of over 100,000 people
descended on the streets of Paris. The demonstration eventually
devolved into clashes between protesters and soldiers; dozens of
barricades had been erected within two hours of the initial skirmishes.
But few of the marchers had actually arrived ready to fight, and few of
the unprepared protesters sought to join them. Just as in the book, the
small group that had armed itself was massacred.
The entire battle was over just 24 hours after it began; 800 protesters
were killed or injured. The king continued to reign for another 16 years.
The June revolution of 1832 accomplished little. In fact, historians
believe that this event would have been largely forgotten if Victor Hugo
had not chosen it to set the scene for Les Misérables.