Les Misérables, Volume 1


Read by LibriVox Volunteers

(4.5 stars; 455 reviews)

This is book 1 of 5. An ex-convict breaks parole and starts a new life as a righteous man, but is pursued by a police inspector. Along the way, the ex-convict joins a revolution, adopts a daughter, and beats people up. Hooray. (Summary by smileyman457) (13 hr 45 min)

Chapters

Preface 1:03 Read by Ryan T.
Bk 01, ch. 01: M. Myriel 7:03 Read by Sarah Jennings
Bk 01, ch. 02: M. Myriel becomes M. Welcome 11:38 Read by Kalynda
Bk 01, ch. 03: A Hard Bishopric for a Good Bishop 4:54 Read by Heather Barnett
Bk 01, ch. 04: Works corresponding to Words 17:46 Read by Melissa
Bk 01, ch. 05: Monseigneur Bienvenu made his Cassocks last too long 6:47 Read by Melissa
Bk 01, ch. 06: Who guarded his House for him 13:04 Read by Melissa
Bk 01, ch. 07: Cravatte 8:12 Read by Kalynda
Bk 01, ch. 08: Philosophy after Drinking 8:56 Read by Kalynda
Bk 01, ch. 09: The Brother as depicted by the Sister 8:49 Read by Kalynda
Bk 01, ch. 10: The Bishop in the Presence of an Unknown Light 35:19 Read by Peter Eastman
Bk 01, ch. 11: A Restriction 10:51 Read by Melissa
Bk 01, ch. 12: The Solitude of Monseigneur Welcome 7:37 Read by Melissa
Bk 01, ch. 13: What he believed 10:40 Read by Melissa
Bk 01, ch. 14: What he thought 7:09 Read by Zachary Brewster-Geisz
Bk 02, ch. 01: The Evening of a Day of Walking 28:01 Read by Ancilla
Bk 02, ch. 02: Prudence counselled to Wisdom 10:52 Read by Melissa
Bk 02, ch. 03: The Heroism of Passive Obedience 14:26 Read by Melissa
Bk 02, ch. 04: Details concerning the Cheese-Dairies of Pontarlier 8:57 Read by Melissa
Bk 02, ch. 05: Tranquillity 3:46 Read by Charlene V. Smith
Bk 02, ch. 06: Jean Valjean 14:24 Read by Charlene V. Smith
Bk 02, ch. 07: The Interior of Despair 18:23 Read by David Jaquay
Bk 02, ch. 08: Billows and Shadows 7:39 Read by Peter Eastman
Bk 02, ch. 09: New Troubles 3:45 Read by Garrett Fitzgerald
Bk 02, ch. 10: The Man aroused 8:41 Read by Garrett Fitzgerald
Bk 02, ch. 11: What he does 11:23 Read by B. Grebe
Bk 02, ch. 12: The Bishop works 9:03 Read by B. Grebe
Bk 02, ch. 13: Little Gervais 25:32 Read by johnb
Bk 03, ch. 01: The Year 1817 19:48 Read by B. Grebe
Bk 03, ch. 02: A Double Quartette 11:20 Read by Lisa Chau
Bk 03, ch. 03: Four and Four 8:51 Read by Sean O'Hara
Bk 03, ch. 04: Tholomyes is so Merry that he sings a Spanish Ditty 6:18 Read by Sibella Denton
Bk 03, ch. 05: At Bombardas 7:10 Read by ink tree
Bk 03, ch. 06: A Chapter in which they adore Each Other 3:42 Read by Annise
Bk 03, ch. 07: The Wisdom of Tholomyes 14:58 Read by Annise
Bk 03, ch. 08: The Death of a Horse 5:49 Read by Varra Unreal
Bk 03, ch. 09: A Merry End to Mirth 6:50 Read by Jordan
Bk 04, ch. 01: One Mother meets Another Mother 18:57 Read by Melissa
Bk 04, ch. 02: First Sketch of Two Unprepossessing Figures 5:11 Read by Melissa
Bk 04, ch. 03: The Lark 6:13 Read by Melissa
Bk 05, ch. 01: The History of a Progress in Black Glass Trinkets 4:02 Read by Joel Poortenga
Bk 05, ch. 02: Madeleine 8:51 Read by Joel Poortenga
Bk 05, ch. 03: Sums deposited with Laffitte 7:18 Read by Joel Poortenga
Bk 05, ch. 04: M. Madeleine in Mourning 5:54 Read by Joel Poortenga
Bk 05, ch. 05: Vague Flashes on the Horizon 14:05 Read by Joel Poortenga
Bk 05, ch. 06: Father Fauchelevent 6:51 Read by Joel Poortenga
Bk 05, ch. 07: Fauchelevent becomes a Gardener in Paris 4:15 Read by Peter Eastman
Bk 05, ch. 08: Madame Victurnien expends Thirty Francs on Morality 7:29 Read by Zachary Brewster-Geisz
Bk 05, ch. 09: Madame Victurnien's Success 6:28 Read by Zachary Brewster-Geisz
Bk 05, ch. 10: Result of the Success 12:36 Read by Zachary Brewster-Geisz
Bk 05, ch. 11: Christus nos Liberavit 3:04 Read by Zachary Brewster-Geisz
Bk 05, ch. 12: M. Bamatabois's Inactivity 6:27 Read by Zachary Brewster-Geisz
Bk 05, ch. 13: The Solution of Some Questions connected with the Municipal Poli… 26:11 Read by Catharine Eastman
Bk 06, ch. 01: The Beginning of Repose 10:28 Read by Peter Eastman
Bk 06, ch. 02: How Jean may become Champ 23:30 Read by Peter Eastman
Bk 07, ch. 01: Sister Simplice 9:41 Read by Jc Guan
Bk 07, ch. 02: The Perspicacity of Master Scaufflaire 12:23 Read by B. Grebe
Bk 07, ch. 03: A Tempest in a Skull 48:49 Read by Robin Cotter
Bk 07, ch. 04: Forms assumed by Suffering during Sleep 8:32 Read by A.P. Goldstein
Bk 07, ch. 05: Hindrances 22:39 Read by Tamara Hamilton
Bk 07, ch. 06: Sister Simplice put to the Proof 14:38 Read by Tamara Hamilton
Bk 07, ch. 07: The Traveller on his Arrival takes Precautions for Departure 9:46 Read by Tamara Hamilton
Bk 07, ch. 08: An Entrance by Favor 7:08 Read by jpride
Bk 07, ch. 09: A Place where Convictions are in Process of Formation 20:55 Read by Mat Messerschmidt
Bk 07, ch. 10: The System of Denials 21:31 Read by Mat Messerschmidt
Bk 07, ch. 11: Champmathieu more and more Astonished 10:44 Read by Joel Poortenga
Bk 08, ch. 01: In what Mirror M. Madeleine contemplates his Hair 6:33 Read by Robin Cotter
Bk 08, ch. 02: Fantine Happy 11:13 Read by Clarke Bell
Bk 08, ch. 03: Javert Satisfied 10:30 Read by Graeme Jolliffe
Bk 08, ch. 04: Authority reasserts its Rights 9:55 Read by Graeme Jolliffe
Bk 08, ch. 05: A Suitable Tomb 13:45 Read by Joel Poortenga

Reviews

emotions are in the details


(5 stars)

first, great job readers. like others, I only noticed one chapter where the persons strong accent made it hard to understand, but it was a short chapter of not much importance. as is always true, the book is better than the movie (or play). where the movie takes 5minutes, the book takes a full 5hrs. the writer had so much patience in writing so much detail in the history... detailed character descritions, life history for characters that only play a passing moment w the main characters. but it is in those details that later the actions of the character fill u with so much more emotion and understanding. the writer even filled chapters with general history of the time period to give u a better understanding of the life and trials and mindset of people of the time. I have seen the musical and movie many many times by various performers. so I hesitated to read this book knowing its old writing style could bore me since I was so familiar with the story. but I am glad now that I finally decided to read it.

Best Book Ever Written


(5 stars)

I absolutely love this book and I wouldn’t have read it if it wasn’t for these readers! I got through the whole thing in a couple months and I am now reading it the second time!!!

Very good


(3.5 stars)

Les Miserables is a book that's far too wordy for my usual schedule to allow me to read, but which I have wanted to read for a long time. Many thanks to Librivox and the readers for making it available in this form. It was a pleasure to listen to and I am immediately moving on to Vol. 2. A couple of chapters in Book III were nearly incomprehensible, and I had to go to Project Gutenberg to read them. I think this was two different readers, and it was due to sound quality along with accent. That is why I gave a slightly lower score.

This is a must read


(5 stars)

Very well read! Thank you Librivox volunteers! One reader was difficult to understand and after several attempts I skipped the chapter. As per the story, AMAZING. Victor Hugo is a literary genius. His ability to place the reader in the scene is unrivaled. Les Miserables is an emotional and inspiring historical fiction that will enhance your perspective and encourage you to do more good. Enjoy!

Good read


(4.5 stars)

Although some of the voices were slightly annoying or hard to discern, the book was great and for being a free recording done by volunteers, I would say pretty reasonable.

Les Misérables...


(4.5 stars)

What a beautiful work. The details are immersive, almost as if you were really there. Like Dumas's works, the backstories of fairly unimportant characters add a feeling of additional depth to the story. I've been meaning to read this for quite a while now, but didn't have the time. Now this, this I can listen to as I work, as I prepare to sleep, and whenever I want to! 5 stars to most of the readers, there were one or two who were difficult to understand, but only one reader was actually incomprehensible, and that was only a seven-minute chapter. And who am I to complain, anyway? LibriVox provides all of these wonderful recordings at no cost at all! I did take off half a star for this, but please don't take that too seriously. Five-star multi-leader recordings are few and far between. Recommended highly overall!

Marvelous book, a humble of readers


(4 stars)

I had to give this volume of Les Misérables four stars--which should be five were it not for too many of the readers not being up to the task--because the volume well-deserves its high place among the great classics. More than a few readers did an excellent job, but it's hard to believe that Librivox was so desperate for readers that they had to give so many chapters to people who don't know how to pronounce common English words, let alone the French ones. One chapter was read by a guy using a broken microphone that hums in varying degrees from beginning to end. I encourage subscribers to overlook the weak reading of many chapters that nevertheless are well worth listening to, and I beg Librivox to have the half-dozen worst readings rerecorded by a better reader.

wonderful read


(5 stars)

I really liked this book. I feel like Victor Hugo is an old friend by now. He's a very interesting guy to hang out with! The character development is probably the best I've ever read and the way he takes his time to fill out the picture in the story is astounding. It's so rich and colorful and real. I'm a bit sad to be finished with the book and glad to know there's another huge book in hunchback waiting for me some day. In all, a very engaging, compelling and heart rending book. I really loved it. Thanks to all who read it.