HUGO (Victor). The Laughing Man. Paris: Librairie internationale; Brussels, Leipzig, Livorno: A. Lacroix, Verboeckhoven & Cie, 1869. - 4 volumes in-8, 235 x 152: 381 pp., printed cover; 307 pp., printed cover; 296 pp., printed cover; 384 pp., printed cover. Brown half-maroquin with corners, golden fillets, smooth back decorated with gold and cold gold motifs, golden head, untrimmed , cover and back preserved (Durvand). First edition of the last of Victor Hugo's great exile novels. In this dark and daring work, Victor Hugo paints an epic picture of the English aristocracy at the beginning of the 18th century through the destiny of Gwynplaine, the man who laughs and settles scores with his century, highlighting the fact that after three revolutions, ignorance, misery and injustice still persist. This novel is in the line of Les Misérables, both reflecting the social concerns that had made Victor Hugo a politician. A copy of Jules Claretie (1840-1913), enriched by the author's letter on the first blank page :A M. J ules Claretie // Victor HugoJules Claretie was a writer, historian and critic, who successively held the position of president of the Société des gens de lettres, vice-president of the Société des auteurs et compositeurs dramatiques and general administrator of the Comédie Française. He was very close to Victor Hugo, whom he accompanied on his return from exile on 5 September 1870. In his book Victor Hugo: Intimate Memories (1902), he describes his encounter with him as follows: "I was alone and was looking at the door, anxiously wondering if Victor Hugo was going to appear. What Victor Hugo was to us young men is what the Emperor must have been to the grenadiers of his guard. Suddenly I heard footsteps above my head, and I guessed that it was him: footsteps that were a little heavy, whose firm slowness continued up the stairs. And when the door opened n