| Prologue: 1815, Digne Jean Valjean, released on parole after 19 years on the chain gang, finds that the yellow ticket-of-leave he must, by law, display condemns him to be an outcast. Only the saintly dishop of Digne treats him kindly and Valgean, embittered by years of hardship, repays him by stealing some silver. Valjean is caught and brought back by police, and is astonished when the Bishop lies to the police to save him, also giving him two precious candlesticks. Valjean decides to start his life anew. |
| 1823, Montreuil-Sur-Mer Eight years have passed an Valjean, haiving broken his parole and changed his name to Monsieur Madeleine, has risen to become both a factory owner and Mayor. One of his workers, Fantine, has a secret illegitimate child. When the other women discover this, they demand her dismissal. The foreman, whose advances she has rejected, throws her out. |
| Desperate for money to pay for medicines for her daughter, Fantines selles her locket, her hair, and then joins the whores in selling herself. Utterly degraded by her new trade, she gets into a fight with a prospective customer and is about to be taken to prison by Javer when "The Mayor" arrives and demands she be taken to a hospital instead. |
| The mayor then resucues a man pinned down by runaway cart. Javert is reminded of the abnormal strength of convict 24601 Jean Valjean, a parole-breaker whom he has been tracking for years, but who, he says, has just been recaptured. Valjean, unable to see an innocent man go to prison in his place, confesses to the court that he is prisoner 24601. |
| At the hospital, Valjean promises the dying Fantine to find and look after her daughter, Cosette. Javert arrives to arrest him, but Valjean escapes. |
| 1823, Montfermeil Young Cosette had been lodged for five years with the Thenardiers who run an inn, horribly abusing the little girl whom they use as a skivvy while indulging their own daughter, Eponine. Valjean finds Cosette fetching water in the dark. He pays the Thenardiers to let him take Cosette away and takes her to Paris. But Javert is still on his tail... |
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| Since September 9th, 2001 |
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