This line is not from Victor Hugo's 1862 novel Les Misérables. It is the closing line of “Valjean's Death” in the 1985 stage musical, written by English lyricist Herbert Kretzmer, who adapted rather than translated Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel's French libretto.
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In context
Evoking the world of Herbert Kretzmer — South African-born British journalist, songwriter & lyricist. Theme: "To love another person is to see the face of God". 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 "To love another person is to see the face of God". 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 / “Valjean's Death,” Les Misérables (musical)
English lyrics
Herbert Kretzmer (1985)
Music
Claude-Michel Schönberg
Original French text
Alain Boublil & Jean-Marc Natel (1980)
And remember, the truth that once was spoken: To love another person is to see the face of God.
Valjean's Death — Finale
Sung by Jean Valjean, Fantine, and Éponine as Valjean dies, in the musical's closing scene.
The line is sung by Valjean, Fantine, and Éponine in the “Valjean's Death” finale of the stage musical Les Misérables, per Wikiquote ↗.
English lyrics for the 1985 production were written by journalist-turned-lyricist Herbert Kretzmer, per Wikipedia ↗.
Kretzmer said he did not literally translate the French libretto by Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel — he read Hugo's novel and a literal translation of the French text, then wrote substantial new material, per Bellingua Translations ↗.
The exact sentence is catalogued on Goodreads under Kretzmer's name and tagged to the musical, not to Hugo's novel, per Goodreads ↗.
This line is a lyric from a 1985 stage musical still under copyright, not a passage from Hugo's public-domain 1862 novel. Rights belong to the show's producers and Kretzmer's estate, not to Victor Hugo.
Fact-check
Who actually wrote it
This is one of the most-searched “Victor Hugo quotes” online, but it never appears in Hugo's 1862 novel — it was written well over a century later, for the stage.
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True author of this exact wordingHerbert Kretzmer Confirmed
Kretzmer wrote this English sentence for the finale of the 1985 stage musical Les Misérables, adapting rather than literally translating the French libretto, per Bellingua Translations ↗.
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Original French lyricistsAlain Boublil & Jean-Marc Natel Related, not the source of this English wording
They wrote the original 1980 French libretto that Kretzmer later adapted for the English production, per Wikiquote ↗.
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Novelist who inspired the musical, not the author of this lineVictor Hugo Misattributed
Hugo wrote the 1862 novel the musical is based on, and Valjean's redemption arc inspired this closing scene — but no sentence resembling this quote appears in his text, which is freely readable in full at Project Gutenberg ↗.
✓The words belong to lyricist Herbert Kretzmer's 1985 stage adaptation of Les Misérables, not to Victor Hugo's novel, per Wikiquote ↗.
Context
How the line entered the world
Search this quote and you'll get page after page crediting Victor Hugo. In reality it's the closing line of the Broadway/West End musical Les Misérables, sung by Jean Valjean, Fantine, and Éponine as Valjean dies and is received into the light.
The English libretto was written in 1985 by Herbert Kretzmer, a South African-born British journalist and songwriter who took over the project on short notice for producer Cameron Mackintosh. Kretzmer has said he worked from a literal translation of Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel's original French show, and from Hugo's novel itself, then wrote substantial new lyrics of his own rather than translating directly — which is exactly what happened at the finale.
The words are Herbert Kretzmer's, written for the stage in 1985 — not Victor Hugo's, from the page in 1862.
Read the full story
Hugo's 1862 novel does share the musical's underlying theme — that love, mercy, and grace are how Jean Valjean glimpses the divine — but that theme is expressed across hundreds of pages of narrative and authorial digression, not in a single quotable sentence resembling this one.
Explore
Filed under
More provenance-checked quotes on the same theme, each with its reuse status.
1925–2020 · South African-born British journalist, songwriter & lyricist
Kretzmer was a journalist and theatre critic who also wrote pop lyrics, including hits for Charles Aznavour. In 1985 producer Cameron Mackintosh commissioned him, on short notice, to write the English-language libretto for the French musical Les Misérables. Kretzmer read Victor Hugo's novel and a literal translation of the French show, then wrote substantial new English lyrics rather than a direct translation.
For writers & researchers
Cite this
Les Misérables (musical), Finale — "Valjean's Death" (1985)
Kretzmer, Herbert (English lyrics); Schönberg, Claude-Michel (music); Boublil, Alain, and Jean-Marc Natel (original French text). “Finale (Valjean's Death).” Les Misérables (stage musical). London: Cameron Mackintosh/Barbican Theatre, 1985.
This verification page
Quotle.info. “Who really said ‘To love another person is to see the face of God’?” Last verified 8 Jul 2026. https://quotle.info/who-said/to-love-another-person-is-to-see-the-face-of-god