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Who really said it

Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise

Not Victor Hugo — actually Herbert Kretzmer Herbert Kretzmer 1925–2020 · South African-born British journalist & lyricist
Disputed In copyright

This line does not appear in Hugo’s 1862 novel. It was written by lyricist Herbert Kretzmer for the Finale of the 1985 English-language stage adaptation of Les Misérables, and has since spread online as a direct Hugo quotation.

Last verified 8 Jul 2026 · how we verify · spot an error?

For presentations

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Disputed — copy with the correction

“Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise” Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise. — Herbert Kretzmer, Les Misérables (1985 stage musical)

Can you use it?

Still under copyright (rights held by Herbert Kretzmer (lyrics) and the Les Misérables stage-production rights holders (Cameron Mackintosh Ltd. / Alain Boublil Music Ltd.)). A short, credited quote is generally fine for talks, teaching, and internal decks; for commercial, published, or large-scale reuse, get permission.

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In context

Evoking the world of Herbert Kretzmer — South African-born British journalist & lyricist. Theme: "Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise". Atmospheric and restrained, cinematic directional light, a muted period-appropriate palette, fine grain and texture. Compose with generous empty space for the quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.

Minimalist

Minimalist editorial slide for the quote "Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise". Clean background, a single muted accent color, generous negative space, subtle paper or linen texture, no literal illustration — let the words carry it. Reserve clear space for a serif quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.

Provenance

The source

Song
Finale
Show
Les Misérables (English-language stage musical)
English lyrics by
Herbert Kretzmer
English premiere
8 October 1985, Barbican Theatre, London

For the wretched of the earth there is a flame that never dies; even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise. Finale

Some lyric transcriptions render this as “darkest nights” (plural); Wikiquote’s sourced text uses the singular “darkest night,” matching the popular quotation.

Les Misérables (musical) lyrics on Wikiquote

How we verified this

In copyright

This exact English line comes from Kretzmer’s 1985 stage-musical lyrics, which remain under copyright. It is not a line from Hugo’s public-domain 1862 novel, so no public-domain claim applies to this wording.

Fact-check

The Novel/Musical Mix-Up

This is one of the most common Les Misérables mix-ups: a line written fresh for the stage musical gets credited to the novel’s author.

Victor Hugo (novelist) Wrong work

The line is absent from Hugo’s 1862 novel; it was composed by Herbert Kretzmer specifically for the musical’s Finale, per Wikiquote’s sourced lyrics ↗.

Auction houses & retailers Marketing copy

Even a Sotheby’s listing ↗ for a genuine first edition of the novel used the line as a headline, without it appearing in the book itself.

The words belong to lyricist Herbert Kretzmer ↗, written for the 1985 English-language Les Misérables stage musical — not to Victor Hugo’s novel.

Context

Why It Endures

The line closes the musical’s Finale, sung as the ensemble reprises the show’s themes after Jean Valjean’s death — a moment of collective hope rather than a passage lifted from Hugo’s prose.

Because the 1985 stage adaptation shares its title and characters with Hugo’s 1862 novel, lines written fresh for the show are routinely mistaken for the novelist’s own words — this is one of the most widely shared examples of that mix-up.

It’s a wonderful line, and well in keeping with the story, but it’s not a Hugo quote.

About the 1985 English lyrics

Kretzmer’s English lyrics, adapted from Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel’s original French libretto (music by Claude-Michel Schönberg), expanded the show for its 8 October 1985 Barbican Theatre opening and won him a Tony Award and a Grammy.

Explore

Filed under

More provenance-checked quotes on the same theme, each with its reuse status.

Hope Resilience

Go further

Dig deeper

Trusted places to keep pulling the thread — primary archives, fact-checks, and scholarship. We show how we used each one before you leave.

Les Misérables (musical) — Finale lyricsen.wikiquote.org

Wikiquote's sourced lyrics for the musical's Finale, showing the exact line and its stage-musical context.
Herbert Kretzmeren.wikipedia.org

Biography of the English lyricist who wrote this line for the 1985 stage adaptation.
This is not a Victor Hugo quotetumblr.com

A blog dedicated to correcting misattributions of Les Misérables musical lyrics to Victor Hugo.
Incorrect(ly Attributed) Les Mis Quotestumblr.com

Another blog documenting lines from the musical that are wrongly credited to Hugo's novel.
Finale — full lyrics transcriptallmusicals.com

Full lyrics of the musical's Finale number, crediting Herbert Kretzmer's English lyrics.
Les Misérables first edition, 1862sothebys.com

Example of the misattributed quote used as marketing copy for a genuine Hugo first-edition listing.

The Lyricist

About Herbert Kretzmer

Herbert Kretzmer

1925–2020 · South African-born British journalist & lyricist

Kretzmer was a South African-born journalist who became a leading London theatre critic before turning lyricist. His English-language lyrics for the 1985 stage adaptation of Les Misérables — built on Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel’s French original, with music by Claude-Michel Schönberg — won him a Tony Award and a Grammy.

For writers & researchers

Cite this

The primary source (Chicago)

Kretzmer, Herbert (lyrics). “Finale.” In Les Misérables (English-language stage musical), music by Claude-Michel Schönberg, book by Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel. London: Barbican Theatre / Cameron Mackintosh, 1985.

This verification page

Quotle.info. “Who really said ‘Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise’?” Last verified 8 Jul 2026. https://quotle.info/who-said/even-the-darkest-night-will-end-and-the-sun-will-rise

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