BANNED BOOK SUMMARY

Les Miserables BY Hugo, Victor

All of Victor Hugo’s works- past, present, and future- were banned in 1850 by Tsar Nicholas I because of Hugo’s less-than-flattering depiction of royalty; his works were also listed on the infamous Index Librorum Prohibitorum– the Catholic Church’s list of books forbidden among members of the faith. Les Misérables was added to the Index in 1864, where it remained until 1959 because it was considered to be critical of the clergy and the papacy.

ven as recently as 2006, some Catholic officials still feel that the book and its adaptations are unsuited for children and teenagers.

In 1904, it was banned from a Philadelphia school because it contained a French word associated with prostitution- grisette, a working class woman or “good-time girl”.