 Hugo used Bienvenu de Miollis (1753–1843), the Bishop of Digne during the time in which Valjean encounters Myriel, as the model for Myriel.Hugo had used the departure of prisoners from the Bagne of Toulon in one of his early stories, "Le Dernier Jour d'un Condamné".He went to Toulon to visit the Bagne in 1839 and took extensive notes, though he did not start writing the book until 1845.