Bishop Myriel

Alfred J. Garrotto is the author of 13 books, including both fiction and nonfiction. Bishop Myriel: In His Own Words is the second in the author's series, The Wisdom of Les Miserables. It follows Lessons from the Heart of Jean Valjean. The author is a confessed Hugophile, interested in everything connected with the great author's life and works. 

In Les Miserables, Victor Hugo includes a complete outline of the Bishop's unfinished book.

In the wildly popular stage/musical version of Les Mis, Bishop Myriel appears for a brief few minutes in one of the shows early scenes. Tthen, he disappears until the end of the musical, when he comes back for a cameo appearance in Jean Valjean's deathbed scene.

In Hugo's novel, however, the story begins with Bishop Myriel--his life story and minisitry to the poor (covering the first 90 pages of the novel). At that point, Jean Valjean enters the book and arrives as everyone knows at the bishop's doorstep--a hungy and rejected parolee, freed after 19 years on the galleys. 

Bishop Myriel becomes the catalyst character who frees Jean Valjean from a life of misery and crime, He sets Valjean on an exemplary life path of compassionate living that has captivated readers and theater audiences for 160 years.

Using Hugo's detailed outline, Garrotto writes the bishop's unfinished book on the topic of biblical Duty and does so in the Bishop's first person voice. Bishop Myriel: In His Own Words is a gem of a novel that that every Hugophile and fan of Les Mis will find inspiring and a valuable addition to their library.