The Man Who Laughs

by Victor Hugo Narrated by Simon Vance

Overview

The Man Who Laughs
By Victor Hugo. Translated by Isabel Florence Hapgood.
 
The Man Who Laughs (“L'Homme qui Rit”) was called by its author “A Romance of English History,” and was written during the period Hugo spent in exile in Guernsey. Like The Toilers of the Sea, its immediate predecessor, the main theme of the story is human heroism, confronted with the superhuman tyranny of blind chance. As a passionate cry on behalf of the tortured and deformed, and the despised and oppressed of the world, The Man Who Laughs is irresistible. Of it Hugo himself says in the preface: “The true title of this book should be “Aristocracy'”-inasmuch as it was intended as an arraignment of the nobility for their vices, crimes, and selfishness. The Man Who Laughs was first published in 1869.

Editorial Reviews

Village Voice

Although his visage inspired Batman’s most splendiferous villain, the Joker, Gwynplaine’s commonsense polemics still resonate, whether in Occupy protests or speeches by Elizabeth Warren.

Booklist

Hine’s script neither shrinks from nor winks at the tale’s over-the-top melodrama, and Stafford’s elaborately cursive and pointy drawing style, awash in darkness and saturated colors, expresses it near perfectly.

Booklist

Hine’s script neither shrinks from nor winks at the tale’s over-the-top melodrama, and Stafford’s elaborately cursive and pointy drawing style, awash in darkness and saturated colors, expresses it near perfectly.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940176891300
Publisher:	Oasis Audio
Publication date:	10/25/2022
Series:	Oasis Classics
Edition description:	Unabridged

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