In Les Misèrables Victor Hugo refers to his works as "stupid romances" which the favourite reading of Madame Thénardier.
The inn, which is forced to close down after Cosette is taken, is called "The Sergeant at Waterloo", because of a peculiar adventure that M. Thénardier had following the famous battle.
After Tholomyès abandons Fantine, she leaves Cosette with the Thénardiers at their inn in Montfermeil, paying them to care for her child while she goes to work in the city of Montreuil-sur-Mer when Cosette is two years old.