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redfarmer

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I thought Toilers of the Sea was magnificent. It blew my mind. I think that is one of the greatest examples of pure heroism, of man vs. nature, in the artistic world. Whenever I am dealing with an obstacle, I always think of Gilliatt for inspiration. Although Ninety-Three is still my favroite of his. By now I've read everything except for Hans of Iceland and Bug Jurgal. I'm interested to hear reviews from other Hugo readers, because I have yet to hear anything at all about these two.

I've been looking everywhere to try and find Ayn Rand's introduction to Toilers but I can't find it. I'm really curious as to what she thinks of it. Can anyone give me some info or a link or a paraphrase?

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I thought Toilers of the Sea was magnificent. It blew my mind. I think that is one of the greatest examples of pure heroism, of man vs. nature, in the artistic world. Whenever I am dealing with an obstacle, I always think of Gilliatt for inspiration. Although Ninety-Three is still my favroite of his. By now I've read everything except for Hans of Iceland and Bug Jurgal. I'm interested to hear reviews from other Hugo readers, because I have yet to hear anything at all about these two.

I've been looking everywhere to try and find Ayn Rand's introduction to Toilers but I can't find it. I'm really curious as to what she thinks of it. Can anyone give me some info or a link or a paraphrase?

Edited by softwareNerd
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I don't think there is an Ayn Rand introduction to Toilers of the Sea. I know for sure there is one for 93 and The Man Who Laughs. Shoshana Milgram wrote one in a 1993 Atlantean Press edition.

Have you read his Preface To Cromwell? It's in a Harvard Classics edition called Famous Prefaces. If you haven't you should really check it out. It is a wonderful supplement to The Romantic Manifesto. I still need to read Hans D'Island, Ruy Blas, and Cromwell. The former I have in french editions and I can't read them that well yet.

Jose.

Edited by AMERICONORMAN
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I thought Toilers of the Sea was magnificent. It blew my mind. I think that is one of the greatest examples of pure heroism, of man vs. nature, in the artistic world. Whenever I am dealing with an obstacle, I always think of Gilliatt for inspiration. Although Ninety-Three is still my favroite of his. By now I've read everything except for Hans of Iceland and Bug Jurgal. I'm interested to hear reviews from other Hugo readers, because I have yet to hear anything at all about these two.

I've been looking everywhere to try and find Ayn Rand's introduction to Toilers but I can't find it. I'm really curious as to what she thinks of it. Can anyone give me some info or a link or a paraphrase?

As already mentioned, AR did not write an introduction to Toilers of the Sea. It was reportedly the favorite novel of Thomas Edison.

While Hans of Iceland and Bug Jargal are not as polished as Hugo's later novels, they are still excellent novles with lots of dramatic value conflicts. Hans of Iceland is interesting in that it has (if I remember correctly) a character named Ragnar, and another character named Danneskjold. Seems likely that is where AR took the name Ragnar Danneskjold from.

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  • 4 months later...
I searched for a long time before finding a used copy of his complete plays in English. The version I found is called: Hugo: Dramas/Four Volumes in Two/by Victor Hugo/With Illustrations/Boston and New York/Colonial Press Company/Publishers. It does not give the name of the translator.

It contains these plays:

Hernani[...]

I just found out about this particular play, and what happened when it first took place in 19 century Paris. I'm reading a novel set in 19 Century France by Kay Nolte Smith titled A Tale of the Wind. She writes from the historical fictional perspective of the people who attended that play, of which if anyone is interested can find out more about here which tells about what happened at that play, historically and describes the play itself. Smith novels I am so fond of right now, so I can't read that play right now, but I really do want to read it sometime.

his long introduction to Cromwell, which is supposed to have constituted his "Romantic Manifesto." I believe excerpts from it were once printed in the Atlantean Press Review.

Interesting you mention that. It's important in the novel I am reading too. Referred to as "the manifesto of Romanticism" by people and that everyone is talking about it. A dwarf saved Victor Hugo from thieves and later Hugo makes sure that Nandou, the dwarf who rescued him, got a copy of the preface to his next work at the time, Cromwell, which Nandou immediately starts identifying with, with his situation with young Jeanne Sorgel.

Anyways, I just had to comment on that play just a bit. May interest others as well.

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  • 10 months later...
I searched for a long time before finding a used copy of his complete plays in English. The version I found is called: Hugo: Dramas/Four Volumes in Two/by Victor Hugo/With Illustrations/Boston and New York/Colonial Press Company/Publishers. It does not give the name of the translator.

It contains these plays:

Hernani

The Twin Brothers

Angelo

Amy Robsart

Mary Tudor

Ruy Blas

Torquemada

Esmeralda

Cromwell

The Burgraves

The Fool's Revenge

Marion de Lorme

Lucretia Borgia

I finally have come across those first eight you have listed in a book titled Hugo: Dramas/Four Volumes in Two/by Victor Hugo/With Illustrations/Boston and New York/University Press Company/Publishers. I boldfaced the part that differed from your version and also no translator was identified in the book, perhaps I can find out who sometime when I have time to search online.

I just read Hugo's Ninety-Three w/intro written by Ayn Rand. What I particularly enjoyed most in it was the story of Michelle Flechard and her children. Oh, and I learned these important things about Romanticism from her intro:

"To a Romanticist, a background is a background, not a theme"

"Hugo's story is not devised as a means of presenting the French Revolution; the French Revolution is used as a means of presenting history."

Cline's Sparrowhawk series comes to mind here, as far as historical fiction in the romantic realism genre is concerned.

After I finally read Hernani, I'm going to watch a DVD opera of Giuseppe Verdi's with Luciano Pavarotti in it titled Ernani based off of Hugo's work.

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  • 4 weeks later...
I finally have come across those first eight you have listed in a book titled Hugo: Dramas/Four Volumes in Two/by Victor Hugo/With Illustrations/Boston and New York/University Press Company/Publishers. I boldfaced the part that differed from your version and also no translator was identified in the book, perhaps I can find out who sometime when I have time to search online.

I've since read this and many other books, but I wanted to update - One clue that I'd come across in that particular volume, was when I had gotten to the preface for Ruy Blas. The translator is the one writing it, but only signs it with the initials W.D.S.A.

I tried Google-ing a bit, no luck. No idea who that is, anyone?

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