Cosette is a fictional character in the 1862 novel Les Misérables by Victor Hugo and in the many adaptations of the story for stage, film, and television. Her birth name, Euphrasie, is only mentioned briefly. As the orphaned child of an unmarried mother deserted by her father, Hugo never gives her a surname. In the course of the novel, she is mistakenly identified as Ursule, Lark, or Mademoiselle Lanoire.
Illustration of Cosette in the Thénardiers' inn at Montfermeil depicted by Émile Bayard (1837–1891).
Cosette with her doll, painting by Léon Comerre (1850–1916)
The adult Cosette, by Pierre-Georges Jeanniot, 1887 edition
Cosette bids farewell to Valjean after her marriage
Les Misérables is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. Les Misérables has been popularized through numerous adaptations for film, television and the stage, including a musical.
Jean Valjean, under the alias Monsieur Madeleine, illustration by Gustave Brion.
Eugène Vidocq, whose career provided a model for the character of Jean Valjean
Fantine by Margaret Hall
Cosette by Emile Bayard, from the original edition of Les Misérables (1862)
