The Laughing Man
Condition: SECONDHAND
This is a secondhand book. The jacket image is a photograph of the exact copy we have in stock. This image shows the condition of this book. Further condition remarks are below.
Condition remarks:
Condition: Fair to Good. Jacket: No dust jacket — cloth/board binding visible, red spine with age-related wear. Page Condition: Yellowed, consistent with age. Markings: No visible markings. Binding: Appears intact but aged; Fragile, no loose pages. Stickers/Labels: None visible. 573pp.
Originally published in French as L'Homme qui rit in 1869, The Laughing Man is a sweeping work of Gothic historical fiction set in late 17th and early 18th century England. Victor Hugo chronicles the tragic life of Gwynplaine, a child whose face was permanently disfigured into a ghastly grin by a band of criminals, and who rises from poverty as a travelling showman to the heights of English aristocracy. Rich with Hugo's characteristic social critique, the novel argues passionately against the cruelty of class hierarchy and the indifference of the privileged toward the suffering of the poor. With its dark romanticism, vivid theatricality, and sweeping moral vision, the narrative illustrates how those who are made to laugh on the outside may weep most deeply within. A tour de force of 19th-century literature, it stands alongside Les Misérables and Notre-Dame de Paris as one of Hugo's most ambitious and haunting achievements.
Author: Victor Hugo
Format: Hardback
Published: 1111, T. Nelson & Sons, Ltd.
Genre: Classic fiction
Condition remarks:
Condition: Fair to Good. Jacket: No dust jacket — cloth/board binding visible, red spine with age-related wear. Page Condition: Yellowed, consistent with age. Markings: No visible markings. Binding: Appears intact but aged; Fragile, no loose pages. Stickers/Labels: None visible. 573pp.
Originally published in French as L'Homme qui rit in 1869, The Laughing Man is a sweeping work of Gothic historical fiction set in late 17th and early 18th century England. Victor Hugo chronicles the tragic life of Gwynplaine, a child whose face was permanently disfigured into a ghastly grin by a band of criminals, and who rises from poverty as a travelling showman to the heights of English aristocracy. Rich with Hugo's characteristic social critique, the novel argues passionately against the cruelty of class hierarchy and the indifference of the privileged toward the suffering of the poor. With its dark romanticism, vivid theatricality, and sweeping moral vision, the narrative illustrates how those who are made to laugh on the outside may weep most deeply within. A tour de force of 19th-century literature, it stands alongside Les Misérables and Notre-Dame de Paris as one of Hugo's most ambitious and haunting achievements.