The Complete Book of Les Misérables

Les Miserables has made musical history. It has become a cultural, financial, and social phenomenon. In just three years, more than seven million people have flocked to see it, and in ticket revenues alone it has grossed 400 million dollars.

It all began with the classic novel Les Miserables, which Victor Hugo started writing in 1836. Some hundred and fifty years later, in 1980, its musical potential was realized when two young Frenchman, Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schoenberg, adapted Les Miserables for the French stage. In 1982 the impresario Cameron Mackintosh happened to hear their recording and decided to produce it as a musical in English. The the trials and tribulations behind the development of a major international hit began.

Edward Behr goes right back to the novel and the fascinating events surrounding its genesis, not the least of which were the dramas in Victor Hugo's personal life. Behr conveys the full excitement and wonder surrounding the conception and production of the musical. The Complete Book of Les Miserables includes firsthand interviews, hundreds of photographs, set and costume illustrations and the complete libretto for the show. It offers a historically informed and challenging thesis and makes a lasting record of a unique and unforgettable venture.