The text of this edition is the same as that of the édition définitive, Paris, 1880. The unusual length of the introduction will be pardoned, it is hoped, in view of the paucity of general reviews of modern French literature that are available for students in schools and some colleges. It contains the matter which I should require a class of my own to get up for examination in connection with reading this play or any other of Hugo’s works. The Historical Note is a necessity, and is introduced before the play to save students from confusion and waste of time.
