The Man Who Laughs
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The Man Who Laughs
Disfigured in childhood into a permanent grin, the traveling entertainer Gwynplaine—’the man who laughs’—discovers he is heir to an English peerage, only to find the corrupt aristocracy more monstrous than his own scarred face. Hugo’s sweeping, grotesque romance is a savage indictment of social injustice, wrapped in a melodrama of lost identity, doomed love, and the cruelty of power. Rich in Gothic imagery and passionate rhetoric, The Man Who Laughs contrasts the goodness of the outcast with the depravity of the privileged. Dark, strange, and powerful, it is a haunting fable of a disfigured soul whose eternal smile masks a breaking heart, from the author of Les Misérables.
About the Author
Victor Hugo
Victor Hugo (1802-1885) was a French poet, novelist, and dramatist, the towering figure of French Romanticism. His novels Les Misérables and The Hunchback of Notre-Dame are cornerstones of world literature.
See all books by Victor Hugo →More books by Victor Hugo
Listen to The Man Who Laughs Audiobook Free
Listen to The Man Who Laughs by Victor Hugo free online. The full audiobook (24 hr 52 min, 104 chapters, read by volunteer narrators) streams free on this page.
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| # | Chapter | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 001 - Preliminary Chapter - Ursus, part I and II | 26:55 | |
| 2 | 002 - Preliminary Chapter - Ursus, part III and IV | 28:08 | |
| 3 | 003 - Another Preliminary Chapter - The Comparchicos | 35:59 | |
| 4 | 004 - Part I, Book the First, Chapter I - Portland Bill | 17:24 | |
| 5 | 005 - Part I, Book the First, Chapter II - Left Alone | 9:32 | |
| 6 | 006 - Part I, Book the First, Chapter III - Alone | 14:17 | |
| 7 | 007 - Part I, Book the First, Chapter IV - Questions | 5:00 | |
| 8 | 008 - Part I, Book the First, Chapter V - The Tree of Human Invention | 14:17 | |
| 9 | 009 - Part I, Book the First, Chapter VI - Struggle Between Death and Night | 13:58 | |
| 10 | 010 - Part I, Book the First, Chapter VII - The North Point of Portland | 11:15 | |
| 11 | 011 - Part I, Book the Second, Chapter I - Superhuman Laws | 7:26 | |
| 12 | 012 - Part I, Book the Second, Chapter II - Our First Rough Sketches Filled In | 10:25 | |
| 13 | 013 - Part I, Book the Second, Chapter III - Troubled Men on the Troubled Sea | 8:12 | |
| 14 | 014 - Part I, Book the Second, Chapter IV - A Cloud Different from the Others enters on the Scene | 22:49 | |
| 15 | 015 - Part I, Book the Second, Chapter V - Hardquanonne | 5:12 | |
| 16 | 016 - Part I, Book the Second, Chapter VI - They Think that Help is at Hand | 4:14 | |
| 17 | 017 - Part I, Book the Second, Chapter VII - Superhuman Horrors | 10:07 | |
| 18 | 018 - Part I, Book the Second, Chapter VIII - Nix et Nox | 7:57 | |
| 19 | 019 - Part I, Book the Second, Chapter IX - The Charge Confided to a Raging Sea | 3:30 | |
| 20 | 020 - Part I, Book the Second, Chapter X - The Colossal Savage, the Storm | 9:40 | |
| 21 | 021 - Part I, Book the Second, Chapter XI - The Caskets | 5:50 | |
| 22 | 022 - Part I, Book the Second, Chapter XII - Face to Face with the Rock | 8:24 | |
| 23 | 023 - Part I, Book the Second, Chapter XIII - Face to Face with Night | 3:01 | |
| 24 | 024 - Part I, Book the Second, Chapter XIV - Ortach | 3:53 | |
| 25 | 025 - Part I, Book the Second, Chapter XV - Portentosum Mare | 13:41 | |
| 26 | 026 - Part I, Book the Second, Chapter XVI - The Problem Suddenly Works in Silence | 6:08 | |
| 27 | 027 - Part I, Book the Second, Chapter XVII - The Last Resource | 8:40 | |
| 28 | 028 - Part I, Book the Second, Chapter XVIII - The Highest Resource | 14:47 | |
| 29 | 029 - Part I, Book the Third, Chapter I - Chesil | 11:18 | |
| 30 | 030 - Part I, Book the Third, Chapter II - The Effect of Snow | 8:54 | |
| 31 | 031 - Part I, Book the Third, Chapter III - A Burden Makes a Rough Road Rougher | 10:58 | |
| 32 | 032 - Part I, Book the Third, Chapter IV - Another Form of Desert | 11:57 | |
| 33 | 033 - Part I, Book the Third, Chapter V - Misanthropy Plays its Pranks | 34:42 | |
| 34 | 034 - Part I, Book the Third, Chapter VI - The Awakening | 6:53 | |
| 35 | 035 - Part II, Book the First, Chapter I - Lord Clancharlie | 30:55 | |
| 36 | 036 - Part II, Book the First, Chapter II - Lord David Dirry-Moir | 14:16 | |
| 37 | 037 - Part II, Book the First, Chapter III - The Duchess Josiana | 18:15 | |
| 38 | 038 - Part II, Book the First, Chapter IV - The Leader of Fashion | 14:09 | |
| 39 | 039 - Part II, Book the First, Chapter V - Queen Anne | 15:36 | |
| 40 | 040 - Part II, Book the First, Chapter VI - Barkilphedro | 15:30 | |
| 41 | 041 - Part II, Book the First, Chapter VII - Barkilphedro Gnaws His Way | 15:47 | |
| 42 | 042 - Part II, Book the First, Chapter VIII - Inferi | 5:37 | |
| 43 | 043 - Part II, Book the First, Chapter IX - Hate is as Strong as Love | 19:25 | |
| 44 | 044 - Part II, Book the First, Chapter X - The Flame which would be Seen if Man were Transparent | 18:41 | |
| 45 | 045 - Part II, Book the First, Chapter XI - Barkilphedro in Ambuscade | 10:05 | |
| 46 | 046 - Part II, Book the First, Chapter XII - Scotland, Ireland and England | 17:39 | |
| 47 | 047 - Part II, Book the Second, Chapter I - Wherein we see the Face of Him of whom we have hitherto seen only the Acts | 12:26 | |
| 48 | 048 - Part II, Book the Second, Chapter II - Dea | 7:04 | |
| 49 | 049 - Part II, Book the Second, Chapter III - "Oculus non habet, et videt" | 6:07 | |
| 50 | 050 - Part II, Book the Second, Chapter IV - Well-matched Lovers | 8:28 | |
| 51 | 051 - Part II, Book the Second, Chapter V - The Blue Sky through the Black Cloud | 10:39 | |
| 52 | 052 - Part II, Book the Second, Chapter VI - Ursus as Tutor, and Ursus as Guardian | 9:32 | |
| 53 | 053 - Part II, Book the Second, Chapter VII - Blindness Gives Lessons in Clairvoyance | 7:54 | |
| 54 | 054 - Part II, Book the Second, Chapter VIII - Not only Happiness, but Prosperity | 12:44 | |
| 55 | 055 - Part II, Book the Second, Chapter IX - Absurdities which Folks without Taste call Poetry | 14:38 | |
| 56 | 056 - Part II, Book the Second, Chapter X - An Outsider's View of Men and Things | 14:22 | |
| 57 | 057 - Part II, Book the Second, Chapter XI - Gwynplaine Thinks Justice, and Ursus Talks Truth | 22:32 | |
| 58 | 058 - Part II, Book the Second, Chapter XII - Ursus the Poet Drags on Ursus the Philosopher | 7:21 | |
| 59 | 059 - Part II, Book the Third, Chapter I - The Tadcaster Inn | 8:06 | |
| 60 | 060 - Part II, Book the Third, Chapter II - Open-Air Eloquence | 13:24 | |
| 61 | 061 - Part II, Book the Third, Chapter III - Where the Passer-by Reappears | 12:24 | |
| 62 | 062 - Part II, Book the Third, Chapter IV - Contraries Fraternize in Hate | 12:45 | |
| 63 | 063 - Part II, Book the Third, Chapter V - The Wapentake | 7:37 | |
| 64 | 064 - Part II, Book the Third, Chapter VI - The Mouse Examined by the Cats | 17:49 | |
| 65 | 065 - Part II, Book the Third, Chapter VII - Why Should a Gold Piece Lower Itself by Mixing With a Heap of Pennies? | 14:40 | |
| 66 | 066 - Part II, Book the Third, Chapter VIII - Symptoms of Poisoning | 12:15 | |
| 67 | 067 - Part II, Book the Third, Chapter IX - Abyssus abyssum vocat | 22:11 | |
| 68 | 068 - Part II, Book the Fourth, Chapter I - The Temptation of St. Gwynplaine | 18:14 | |
| 69 | 069 - Part II, Book the Fourth, Chapter II - From Gay to Grave | 15:19 | |
| 70 | 070 - Part II, Book the Fourth, Chapter III - Lex, Rex, Fex | 9:00 | |
| 71 | 071 - Part II, Book the Fourth, Chapter IV - Ursus Spies the Police | 11:19 | |
| 72 | 072 - Part II, Book the Fourth, Chapter V - A fearful Place | 5:13 | |
| 73 | 073 - Part II, Book the Fourth, Chapter VI - The kind of Magistracy under the Wigs of Former Days | 10:20 | |
| 74 | 074 - Part II, Book the Fourth, Chapter VII - Shuddering | 4:32 | |
| 75 | 075 - Part II, Book the Fourth, Chapter VIII - Lamentation | 34:32 | |
| 76 | 076 - Part II, Book the Fifth, Chapter I - The Durability of Fragile Things | 24:47 | |
| 77 | 077 - Part II, Book the Fifth, Chapter II - The Waif Knows Its Own Course | 32:58 | |
| 78 | 078 - Part II, Book the Fifth, Chapter III - An Awakening | 7:55 | |
| 79 | 079 - Part II, Book the Fifth, Chapter IV - Fascination | 14:24 | |
| 80 | 080 - Part II, Book the Fifth, Chapter V - We Think We Remember; We Forget | 18:51 | |
| 81 | 081 - Part II, Book the Sixth, Chapter I - What the Misanthrope said | 8:26 | |
| 82 | 082 - Part II, Book the Sixth, Chapter II - What He did | 28:07 | |
| 83 | 083 - Part II, Book the Sixth, Chapter III - Complications | 6:25 | |
| 84 | 084 - Part II, Book the Sixth, Chapter IV - Moenius surdis campana muta | 13:34 | |
| 85 | 085 - Part II, Book the Sixth, Chapter V - State Policy Deals with Little Matters as Well as with Great | 21:03 | |
| 86 | 086 - Part II, Book the Seventh, Chapter I - The Awakening | 6:24 | |
| 87 | 087 - Part II, Book the Seventh, Chapter II - The Resemblance of a Palace to a Wood | 10:01 | |
| 88 | 088 - Part II, Book the Seventh, Chapter III - Eve | 15:01 | |
| 89 | 089 - Part II, Book the Seventh, Chapter IV - Satan | 26:03 | |
| 90 | 090 - Part II, Book the Seventh, Chapter V - They Recognize, but do not Know, Each Other | 5:56 | |
| 91 | 091 - Part II, Book the Eighth, Chapter I - Analysis of Majestic Matters | 29:06 | |
| 92 | 092 - Part II, Book the Eighth, Chapter II - Impartiality | 21:22 | |
| 93 | 093 - Part II, Book the Eighth, Chapter III - The Old Hall | 15:01 | |
| 94 | 094 - Part II, Book the Eighth, Chapter IV - The Old Chamber | 11:15 | |
| 95 | 095 - Part II, Book the Eighth, Chapter V - Aristocratic Gossip | 17:47 | |
| 96 | 096 - Part II, Book the Eighth, Chapter VI - The High and the Low | 9:29 | |
| 97 | 097 - Part II, Book the Eighth, Chapter VII - Storms of Men are Worse than Storms of Oceans | 43:13 | |
| 98 | 098 - Part II, Book the Eighth, Chapter VIII - He would be a good Brother, Were he not a Good Son | 15:55 | |
| 99 | 099 - Part II, Book the Ninth, Chapter I - It is through Excess of Greatness that Man reaches Excess of Misery | 9:54 | |
| 100 | 100 - Part II, Book the Ninth, Chapter II - The Dregs | 44:40 | |
| 101 | 101 - Conclusion, Chapter I - A Watch-Dog may be a Guardian Angel | 10:24 | |
| 102 | 102 - Conclusion, Chapter II - Barkilphedro, Having Aimed at the Eagle, Brings down the Dove | 17:50 | |
| 103 | 103 - Conclusion, Chapter III - Paradise Regained Below | 14:40 | |
| 104 | 104 - Conclusion, Chapter IV - Nay; on High! | 17:03 |
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