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The Man Who Laughs: A Romance of English History

by Victor Hugo (1802–1885)

  • Free to read
  • 14 hours to read
  • 103 chapters
  • Reading level: 6th grade

"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.

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  • Historical fiction
  • Great Britain · History · Anne, 1702-1714
  • England
  • Clowns
  • Mouth · Wounds and injuries
  • Traveling theater
  • Great Britain · History · James II, 1685-1688

Read the opening

Part I

BOOK THE FIRST.—NIGHT NOT SO BLACK AS MAN.

I. Portland Bill
II. Left Alone
III. Alone
IV. Questions
V. The Tree of Human Invention
VI. Struggle between Death and Night
VII. The North Point of Portland

BOOK THE SECOND.—THE HOOKER AT SEA.

I. Superhuman Laws II. Our First Rough Sketches Filled in III. Troubled Men on the Troubled Sea IV. A Cloud Different from the Others enters on the Scene V. Hardquanonne VI. They Think that Help is at Hand VII. Superhuman Horrors VIII. Nix et Nox IX. The Charge Confided to a Raging Sea X. The Colossal Savage, the Storm XI. The Caskets XII. Face to Face with the Rock XIII. Face to Face with Night XIV. Ortach XV. Portentosum Mare XVI. The Problem Suddenly Works in Silence XVII. The Last Resource XVIII. The Highest Resource

BOOK THE THIRD.—THE CHILD IN THE SHADOW.

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Contents

Show all 103 chapters
  1. Part I
  2. Part II
  3. Part I
  4. Chapter I
  5. Chapter II
  6. Chapter III
  7. Chapter IV
  8. Chapter V
  9. Chapter VI
  10. Chapter VII
  11. Chapter I
  12. Chapter II
  13. Chapter III
  14. Chapter IV
  15. Chapter V
  16. Chapter VI
  17. Chapter VII
  18. Chapter VIII
  19. Chapter IX
  20. Chapter X
  21. Chapter XI
  22. Chapter XII
  23. Chapter XIII
  24. Chapter XIV
  25. Chapter XV
  26. Chapter XVI
  27. Chapter XVII
  28. Chapter XVIII
  29. Chapter I
  30. Chapter II
  31. Chapter III
  32. Chapter IV
  33. Chapter V
  34. Chapter VI
  35. Part II
  36. Chapter I
  37. Chapter II
  38. Chapter III
  39. Chapter IV
  40. Chapter V
  41. Chapter VI
  42. Chapter VII
  43. Chapter VIII
  44. Chapter IX
  45. Chapter X
  46. Chapter XI
  47. Chapter XII
  48. Chapter I
  49. Chapter II
  50. Chapter III: “Oculos Non Habet, Et Videt.”
  51. Chapter IV
  52. Chapter V
  53. Chapter VI
  54. Chapter VII
  55. Chapter VIII
  56. Chapter IX
  57. Chapter X
  58. Chapter XI
  59. Chapter XII
  60. Chapter I
  61. Chapter II
  62. Chapter III
  63. Chapter IV
  64. Chapter V
  65. Chapter VI
  66. Chapter VII: Why Should a Gold Piece Lower Itself by Mixing with a Heap of Pennies?
  67. Chapter VIII
  68. Chapter IX
  69. Chapter I
  70. Chapter II
  71. Chapter III
  72. Chapter IV
  73. Chapter V
  74. Chapter VI
  75. Chapter VII
  76. Chapter VIII
  77. Chapter I
  78. Chapter II
  79. Chapter III
  80. Chapter IV
  81. Chapter V
  82. Chapter I
  83. Chapter II
  84. Chapter III
  85. Chapter IV
  86. Chapter V: State Policy Deals with Little Matters As Well As with Great
  87. Chapter I
  88. Chapter II
  89. Chapter III
  90. Chapter IV
  91. Chapter V
  92. Chapter I
  93. Chapter II
  94. Chapter III
  95. Chapter IV
  96. Chapter V
  97. Chapter VI
  98. Chapter VII
  99. Chapter VIII
  100. Chapter I: It Is Through Excess of Greatness That Man Reaches Excess of Misery
  101. Chapter II
  102. Chapter I
  103. Chapter II: Barkilphedro, Having Aimed at the Eagle, Brings Down the Dove
  104. Chapter III
  105. Chapter IV

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About this edition

This free edition of The Man Who Laughs: A Romance of English History by Victor Hugo comes from Project Gutenberg eBook #12587, released 2004-06-01. It is in the public domain in the United States, so you can read it here in full at no cost, on any phone, tablet or computer. Genre: Historical Novels, Novels, French Literature.

Summary provided by Project Gutenberg (automatically generated).

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