Man Who Laughs

"e;The Man Who Laughs"e; ("e;L'Homme qui Rit"e;) was called by its author "e;A Romance of English History,"e; and was written during the period Hugo spent in exile in Guernsey. Like "e;The Toilers of the Sea,"e; 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, "e;The Man Who Laughs"e; is irresistible. Of it Hugo himself says in the preface: "e;The true title of this book should be "e;Aristocracy'"e;-inasmuch as it was intended as an arraignment of the nobility for their vices, crimes, and selfishness. "e;The Man Who Laughs"e; was first published in 1869.