Oh, that's interesting. One of the things I am finding about Les Mis fandom that I quite like is that there is a ton of research to be done, but it's been around so long that everyone else has already done it! I can just wander along behind and bookmark at my leisure.

I do like the details. Much as too many details exhaust and confuse me (ADD, doncha know), and I think my stamina is starting to flag, and sometimes I just want to take a nap, I am glad I'm reading the unabridged version. It fleshes the story out and makes it, frankly, easier to swallow in some places.