- They declared themselves the Friends of the ABC [pronounced ah-bay-say]. The abaissé [the abased] were the people. They wished to raise them up.
- —Les Misérables, Volume Three, Book Four, chapter I
Les Amis de l'ABC are a student revolutionary group from the Victor Hugo novel Les Misérables as well as the musical based upon it. They are all young men—well-spoken, generally attractive, and intelligent—and thus prone to slashing and 'Sue targeting. Members of the group include the leader Enjolras, Combeferre, Jean Prouvaire, Courfeyrac, Bahorel, Feuilly, Grantaire, Joly, and Bossuet/Laigle. Marius, the young male romantic lead of the story, is a newcomer to the revolutionaries. Any female OC who entrances Enjolras is automatically committing an offence, as he canonically has no time for women, being thoroughly caught up in his revolutionary plans.
Characters
Members
- Enjolras: Enjolras, the leader of the ABC, is always preoccupied with revolution. He is extremely logical and serious, and elevates justice and love of his homeland above all else. While he lets the spy, Javert, live as a prisoner, he also executes a fellow rebel who killed an old man who had refused to open his house to the students.
- Combeferre: The philosophical Combeferre sees universal education as the primary means of social progress. Combeferre in particular looks forward to the period of peace that will follow the next revolution.
- Jean Prouvaire: A quiet romantic, Prouvaire writes poetry and studies branches of sociology. He joined the ABC out of sympathy for the people of Paris, particularly women and children.
- Courfeyrac: Courfeyrac is youthful and animated. The novel describes him as the “center” of the ABC, due to his strong feelings for the revolutionary cause. He is also Marius’ roommate at various times throughout the book.
- Feuilly: Because Feuilly is an orphan, he considers France herself to be his mother. As a result, he is very nationalistic.
- Bahorel: Although Bahorel enjoys spending money and avoiding work, he is also a good speaker and a bold fighter. He is supposedly studying law, but avoids school as much as possible.
- Laigle: Laigle seems to suffer from recurring bad luck, but remains optimistic and in good humor. He is bald, even though he is twenty-five years old. His name is given multiple spellings between different printings of the novel and the playbills for the musical, but his friends refer to him by his nickname, Bossuet.
- Joly: Joly studies medicine, which leads him to become a hypochondriac. Despite this, he retains a positive attitude and is very outgoing.
- Grantaire: Grantaire is skeptical of French society’s ability to improve. However, he admires Enjolras’ faith in the future, and is devoted to the ABC for this reason alone (some fans may take this the wrong way). Grantaire is a bit of an alcoholic; in the novel, he misses most of the fighting at the barricade due to being passed out drunk, but still manages to die at Enjolras’ side at the end. In the play, the alcoholism is played more for laughs, although he does fight alongside the other students.
At the Barricade
An army of French citizens joins the Amis de les ABC at their barricade. Several main characters are among them.
- Marius: Marius had been acquainted with the ABC before the June rebellion, but was not officially a member (except in the play). Faced with losing Cosette, he chooses to join them, expecting to be killed. He is the only student at the barricade to survive.
- Jean Valjean: After intercepting Marius’ letter for Cosette, Valjean goes to the barricade in order to rescue the young man. Although he wields a gun, Valjean never kills anyone during the battle. Valjean asks Enjolras for the honor of executing Javert, but then releases him instead. When Marius is wounded, Valjean grabs him and escapes into the sewers. He and Marius are the only survivors.
- Eponine Thénardier: Wanting to die alongside Marius, Eponine disguises herself as a workman to fight at the barricade. She grabs the barrel of a gun that is about to fire on Marius, taking the bullet and saving his life. She delivers Cosette’s letter just before her death. In the play, she instead brings Marius’ letter to Valjean, then gets shot while returning to the barricade, becoming the first to die.
- Gavroche Thénardier: Gavroche is a homeless street urchin who chose to fight at the barricade because, well, how else is a homeless boy to entertain himself? In the novel, Marius tries to save Gavroche by sending him to deliver a letter to Cosette. However, Gavroche returns and, in both the novel and the play, is killed when collecting ammunition from outside the barricade.
- Inspector Javert: A member of the police force who is charged with joining the rebellion undercover, as a spy. He is revealed by Gavroche, and spends most of the battle tied to a pole in a cellar. When the time of his execution comes, Valjean instead frees him.