Victor Hugo's Les Misérables begins publication

Background. Hugo began planning a major novel about social misery and injustice as early as the 1830s, but a full 17 years were needed for Les Misérables to be realised and finally published in 1862. The long gestation reflected his sustained ambition to treat themes of social misery and injustice on a grand scale, a project he carried through to completion over the course of nearly two decades before its release.

Publication. Publication of Les Misérables went to the highest bidder. A massive advertising campaign preceded the release of the first two volumes in Brussels on 30 or 31 March and in Paris on 3 April 1862. The remaining volumes appeared on 15 May 1862. The first volume was available for purchase in New York beginning 7 June 1862. Seven chapters from Book 7 of Part 3 were excised by Albert Lacroix at the time of publication.

Reception. Hugo was acutely aware of the quality of the novel, writing to his publisher Albert Lacroix on 23 March 1862 that he believed the book would be one of the peaks of his work. However, immediate critical reception was mixed. Théophile Gautier wrote in Le Monde on 17 August 1862 that one could not read without disgust all the details regarding the planning of riots. The Goncourt brothers judged the novel artificial and disappointing.