"By Order Of The King" (also published under the title "The Man Who Laughs"), A Romance of English History, by Victor Hugo, published by H.L. Burt Company, New York, undated, 1880s; illustrated.

Hard boards, original publisher's blue cloth, gold lettering on spine; 5.1/4" x 7.1/2"; frontispiece with tissue guard and 7 monochrome plates on glossy paper, 576 pages, very good condition.

The story takes place in England beginning in 1690. The novel concerns the life of a young nobleman, also known as Gwynplaine, disfigured as a child (on the orders of the king), who travels with his protector and companion, the vagabond philosopher Ursus, and Dea, the baby girl he rescues during a storm. The novel is famous for Gwynplaine's mutilated face, stuck in a permanent laugh. Disfigured by a king as a child, a clown and a star of the freak show of a travelling carnival, becomes the pawn of royalty. The book has inspired many artists, dramatists and film-makers.

"I am a symbol. Oh, you all-powerful fools, open your eyes. I represent all. I embody humanity as its masters have made it." [Gwynplaine, in Part 2, Book 8, Chapter VII]

Making a parallel between the mutilation of one man and of human experience, Hugo touches on a recurrent theme in his work "la misere", and criticizes both the nobility which in boredom resorts to violence and oppression and the passivity of the people, who submit to it and prefer laughter to struggle.

Hugo wrote "The Man Who Laughs" over a period of 15 months while he was living in the Channel Islands, having been exiled from his native France because of the controversial political content of his previous novels. "The Man Who Laughs" (By Order Of The King) is argued to be one of Hugo's greatest works.

Note:
Country restrictions may apply - the lesser expansive Priority or 1st Class shipping may not be available to all countries.

US: Priority (c.2-4 days) ----------------- $10.50
Canada: 1st Class (c.2-6 weeks) ------- $26.50
World: 1st Class (c.2-8 weeks) -------- $34.50