Subject
Traveling theater -- Fiction Books
Best books
Victor Hugo
The Man Who Laughs: A Romance of English History
"The Man Who Laughs: A Romance of English History" by Victor Hugo is a Gothic novel published in 1869. Set in late 17th-century England, it follows Gwynplaine, a young nobleman disfigured as a child by royal command, his face carved into a permanent grin. Traveling with a philosopher and a blind girl he rescued, Gwynplaine becomes a carnival performer whose grotesque smile provokes laughter and desire. When his true identity surfaces, he's thrust into a cruel aristocratic world that destroyed him, forcing a confrontation between his past and present.
Victor Hugo
L'homme Qui Rit
"L'homme Qui Rit" by Victor Hugo is a philosophical and dramatic novel published in April 1869. Set in late 17th and early 18th century England, it follows the fate of Gwynplaine, a young boy abandoned by comprachicos—child traders who mutilate children for profit. Left with a face carved into a permanent smile, Gwynplaine's path crosses with Ursus, a wandering philosopher, and his wolf companion. Hugo weaves together themes of aristocracy, human cruelty, and social injustice in this sweeping tale.
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