An exhaustive timeline of the Patron-Minette and their appearances in Les Misérables
Have you ever wanted to know the movements and actions of every single Patron-Minette character (including all affiliates?), throughout the narrative of Les Misérables and beyond? Well, this is the post for you!
This information is either collected from scenes that we as readers witness directly in Les Misérables, or pieced together (as best as I have been able to piece things together) from indirect snippets that Hugo gives us about these characters in passing. I haven’t listed the chapters where this information is located, but if you are curious feel free to message me and I can provide information!
P.S: There are many other wonderful Les Misérables timelines out there, which I urge you to check out! Please note that this timeline only contains information relating to the Patron-Minette, and that whilst Thénardier is featured multiple times in this timeline, he is not actually officially associated with the gang as an affiliate, but is rather a standalone crook that just happens to engage with the group in multiple scenes.
c.1793-1797;
Gueulemer likely born at some point in this period. In 1832 he is described as having ‘a mass of crow’s feet, though not yet forty years old’, and in 1815 he is working as a porter— so must have been an adult, or at least close to adulthood, in that year. Taken together, this information suggests that Gueulemer was probably born around within these years.
1811;
At La Force, Brujon’s father, who is also called Brujon, is locked up. He carves ‘BRUJON, 1811’ into the courtyard wall in the “Lion’s Den” at La Force.
[SPECULATIVE] Brujon is born. I suggest this only because of the line, ‘the Brujon or 1811 was the father of the Brujon of 1832’, which I feel implies Brujon must have been born around this time. Brujon is also described in 1832 as a ‘lad’, so must have been fairly young. If he was born in 1811, he would be 21 in 1832, which seems to align with the ‘lad’ description too.
c.1813-1814;
Montparnasse is born.
1815;
Gueulemer works as a porter in Avignon.
August 2nd
Gueulemer likely involved in the assassination of Marshal Brune.
Sometime before November, 1823;
Boulatruelle had been arrested and imprisoned for a crime we are not privy to, and likely was locked up on the Orion ship (since it is implied he recognised Valjean later in the novel).
He is released from prison and tries to find work in Montfermeil, but is unsuccessful. The only job he can get is for the administration, who hire him as a reduced-rate road mender. He is treated as an outcast by the people of Montfermeil.
1823;
‘Several days’ after November 16th
In Montfermeil, Boulatruelle continues his work as a road mender, but leaves his post early constantly to creep about in the forest. Thénardier, who still owned the inn at this time, gets Boulatruelle drunk in order to get him to reveal what he does in the forest. Boulatruelle reveals that he is trying to look for and dig up some treasure that he had seen an ex-convict whom he recognised (aka Valjean) hide in the woods. He is unsuccessful in finding this treasure.
Sometime before 1830;
Babet works a variety of jobs, including as a clown at Bobinos, and showing ‘freaks’ at fairs. During this time, he owns a booth with an advertisement that reads ‘Babet, dental artist, member of the academies, conducts physical experiments on metals and metalloids, extracts teeth, tackles stumps abandoned by his colleagues. Price: one tooth, one franc, fifty centimes; two teeth, two francs; three teeth, two francs, fifty. Take advantage of this opportunity.’
Babet gets married. He has children (it is not disclosed how many, but from the plural usage of ‘children’ rather than ‘a child’, we can assume he has more than one). The family travel together in his ‘booth-on-wheels’.
Babet’s wife and children disappear one day: ‘he had lost them the way you lose your hankie’. Soon after he decides to go and “tackle” Paris.
1830;
Patron-Minette begin ‘ruling’ the dregs of Paris.
Sometime between 1830-1832;
When out together one time, Courfeyrac points out Panchaud to Marius, seemingly aware of his reputation as a ‘dangerous night rambler’.
Montparnasse likely begins murdering people in this period as, by 1832, he already has ‘several corpses to his name’.
[SPECULATIVE] In this period Brujon had ‘done over’ a police station, out of sheer bravado. This information is revealed in a passing comment in the rue Plumet scene, which would mean that Brujon’s feat would have occured before June 1832, and, with Brujon being a fairly young ‘lad’, I am assuming that he would have only managed this feat in the last couple of years, after the Patron-Minette had begun to ‘rule’ the dregs of Paris.
1832;
We know that in 1832 the Patron-Minette has four heads, Babet, Gueulemer, Claquesous, and Montparnasse. We also know they have a vast network of associates - we learn 18 of their names; Panchaud*, Brujon*, Boulatruelle*, Laveuve, Homère Hugu, Mardisoir, Dépêche, Fauntleroy, Glorieux*, Barrecarrosse*, Lesplanade-du-Sud, Poussagrive, Carmagnolet, Kruideniers*, Mangedentelle, Les-pieds-en-l’air, and Demi-Liard*. [the affiliates who have an asterisk next to their name appear in the novel. The others sadly do not appear in any scenes].
February 2nd, evening
Brujon and Demi-Liard watch a melodrama at the Gaîté Theatre.
February 3rd, in the day
Thénardier converses with Panchaud near the rue de la Barrière-des-Gobelins, likely informing him of his plans for the Gorbeau ambush that evening. Marius sees them (and recognises Panchaud).
Later in the day, Brujon and Demi-Liard meet on the rue du Petit-Banquier, and Brujon convinces Demi-Liard to partake in the Gorbeau ambush that evening.
February 3rd, 6pm; the Gorbeau ambush
Babet, Claquesous and Gueulemer are present at the ambush.
Panchaud, Demi-Liard, Brujon, and Boulatruelle are present at the ambush.
Montparnasse is not present at the ambush. He shows up but stops on the boulevard outside the building to talk to Éponine, before they go off and ‘play Némorin’ together instead of help out on the job.
When Javert interrupts the ambush, all of the Patron-Minette characters present are arrested and taken to La Force. Azelma, Mme Thénardier, and Thénardier are also arrested. Thénardier is also sent to La Force along with the Patron-Minette, Mme Thénardier is sent to Saint Lazare, Azelma is sent to Les Madelonettes.
Night of February 3rd / morning of February 4th
Claquesous is ‘lost’ and manages to escape from the police’s clutches whilst being transported to La Force. He is free.
Éponine is found and ‘nabbed’, being sent to Les Madelonettes alongside her sister.
The Patron-Minette characters are all put into solitary at La Force.
Mid-February
Brujon released from solitary confinement and into Charlemagne yard, with the police hoping that he might reveal something whilst chatting. He spends his days in the yard staring at the canteen’s price list and complaining of being ill, shivering and trying to get sent to the infirmary. Secretly, he is plotting an escape.
The other arrested Patron-Minette characters remain in solitary.
‘Towards the end of February’
All captured Patron-Minette members remain in prison.
Brujon sends out notes to three previously unmentioned Patron-Minette associates, Kruideniers, Glorieux, and Barrecarosse [confirmed by the line ‘these men were somehow affiliated with the Patron-Minette gang], who patrol the areas of the Panthéon, the Val-de-Grâce’ and the barrière de la Grenelle respectively. These men are arrested by the police, who suspect that Brujon is planning a scheme from prison.
Brujon writes his note to Babet, informing him of rue Plumet. He is caught and sent to solitary for a month, but the note still gets to Babet.
Babet, using his mistress (locked up at La Salpêtrière) is able to transfer this note to Magnon, who delivers the note to Éponine as soon as she is released from Les Madelonettes.
Azelma and Éponine released from Les Madelonettes.
‘A few days later’; c. end of February / early March 1832
Éponine delivers a biscuit, meaning that there is nothing worth doing at rue Plumet, to Magnon, who transfers it to Babet’s mistress, who transfers it back to Babet.
‘Less than a week after that’; c. early March 1832
Babet and Brujon bump into each other, as one heads into the ‘preliminary’ and the other returns from it. Babet informs Brujon that there is nothing worthwhile at rue Plumet and the scheme is aborted.
March
Brujon is still spending his time in the correctional chamber, after being caught writing his note, and distributing notes outside of prison. Whilst there, he plans his escape, and makes a rope.
After being released from the correctional chamber, he is transported to the New Building. Here he finds Gueulemer and a nail.
One evening in early April
Beyond the Salpêtrière - in the Austerlitz area, Montparnasse follows Valjean with a rose in his mouth. He tries to attack the old man but is overpowered, and instead treated to a long lecture. Valjean hands Montparnasse his purse. Gavroche, who witnessed the whole thing whilst hiding in some shrubbery, then steals it from Montparnasse’s pocket and leaves it for Mabeuf.
The following day
Babet escapes prison in the morning, as he was being transported from La Force to La Conciergerie.
Gavroche bumps into Montparnasse at the corner of rue des Ballets, near La Force. Montparnasse tells Gavroche that he is off to find Babet and informs him that Babet has escaped (it is not clear how Montparnasse found out this information, or if he had seen Babet earlier that day, but regardless he still is aware of what happened). Montparnasse puts two quill pieces wrapped in cotton up his nose, disguising himself and making his voice sound different. He also carries his cane that contains a concealed knife within.
In the early hours of the next morning, ‘towards one o’clock’
Babet and Montparnasse meet up and prowl around La Force, waiting on Gueulemer and Brujon to escape. It is a windy, rainy night.
Brujon and Gueulemer get up in the middle of the night and start using the nail that Brujon had found before to break the chimney which their beds stood against. They scale the chimney, force the iron grating apart, and end up on the roof. They secure the rope that Brujon made to the iron railing and descent down the eighty foot drop down to the bathhouse, and exit onto the street, and regroup with Babet and Montparnasse. Brujon pulls the rope down, some of it tears and is left on the roof. This escape only takes 45 minutes.
Thénardier sees Brujon and Gueulemer escape on the roof from his cell.
One hour later, at around two o’clock
Thénardier drugs the conscript watching his cell with stupefying wine and steals his bayonet. He makes his way up to the roof (no further detail about how he made it onto the roof is given)
The remnants of Brujon’s rope left on the rood are far too short for Thénardier to use to escape. He is stranded there until 4am.
Two hours later, at four o’clock
The police are alerted of Thénardier’s escape. Babet, Montparnasse, Gueulemer, and Brujon congregate beneath the roof that Thénardier has been stuck above for the last couple of hours, arguing about whether they should leave him, or wait a little longer. They spot him once he throws down the remainder of the rope left on the roof at their feet. Montparnasse tells Brujon to tie the rope together again and throw it up, that way Thénardier can climb down. However, Thénardier is too cold to move. They determine they need a ‘nipper’. Montparnasse runs towards the Bastille.
‘Seven or eight minutes later’
Montparnasse returns with Gavroche, who helps Thénardier escape. Gavroche recognises him as his father, but Thénardier does not recognise Gavroche as his son, not even when Babet pulls him aside and informs him that the boy who saved him was his son.
June 3rd, in the morning
Brujon sees some sparrows fighting.
June 3rd, in the evening
Brujon encounters a woman arguing.
June 3rd, 1 hour after nightfall; rue Plumet attack
Babet, Gueulemer, Claquesous, Brujon, Montparnasse, (and Thénardier) show up to rue Plumet, carrying an array of various horrible weapons. Gueulemer is specified to be carrying a pair of fanchons. They encounter Éponine, who had not seen her father in four months.
Montparnasse and Éponine exchange awkwardly flirtatious dialogue, and she does not address him as Monsieur. She grabs his hand and he warns her that she’ll cut herself on his knife.
After failing to convince them that rue Plumet is a biscuit, Éponine leans against the gate and threatens to scream, before making her powerful (and devastatingly tragic) speech.
Babet reasons that there is something the matter with Éponine, and remains keen on doing the job. Montparnasse threatens her with a knife. Brujon however, who is described as a bit of an ‘oracle’, reveals that he is against entering the house now. He is superstitious, and recollects the fighting birds and woman he saw earlier in the day as a sign that the job was bad.
The gang resolves to clear out. As they leave, Montparnasse declares that he would have slit Éponine’s throat, if they would have wanted him to. Babet responds with ‘not me, I don’t touch women’.
June 5th, at night, but before ten o’clock
Le Cabuc**, a mysterious stranger, is at the barricades and drinking. He decides to try and get into one of the large houses along rue Saint-Denis, banging at the door. When he is denied entry, he shoots the porter. He is executed by Enjolras, and his body tossed into rue Mondétour.
**Early June, a short while after the barricades fell
In the morgue, Le Cabuc’s body is searched and a police agent’s card is found on his person. Victor Hugo (practically) confirms that Le Cabuc was Claquesous.
A special report on this subject is written for the Prefect of Police. Hugo claims that in 1848 he held this exact report.
‘Some little time’ after June 7th
Boulatruelle is released from prison, as there is not enough evidence to charge him for the Gorbeau ambush, since he was so drunk. He goes back to the road between Gagny and Lagny, where he used to work as a road mender before. His alcoholism becomes worse.
Soon after; ‘one morning, shortly before daybreak’
Boulatruelle spots a man walking in Montfermeil’s forests. He tries to follow him, but keeps losing sight. He eventually stumbles upon the location of the treasure he had so long dreamed of finding. But, the hole had been dug up, and it was empty.
c.1833;
Panchaud and Demi-Liard are sentenced to ten years in the galleys for their crimes during the Gorbeau ambush.
1835;
Patron-Minette stop ‘ruling’ the dregs of Paris. It is not clear whether that means the group disbanded or if they had simply become too weak and slipped from their position of power.
1843;
Panchaud makes a famous prison escape at La Force [unclear if the escape is successful]. We are informed that this escape happened in broad daylight, and involved thirty prisoners.
As Panchaud makes his escape, he writes his name above the culvert at the entrance to the sewer.
c.1848;
Panchaud has become a ‘celebrity crook’, and is spoken of as a legend by prisoners in La Force. (Hugo writes in 1862 that ‘he had a real following towards the close of the last reign’, which I believe is making reference to the reign of Louis Philippe - as the Second Republic did not have a king, but rather Presidents... but, I could most certainly be wrong!)
