James II of England is a character in the novel '' The Man Who Laughs'' by

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

. James appears in Geoffrey Trease's 1947 novel, ''Trumpets in the West'', which depicts him as a villain."Books for Young People: ''Trumpets in the West''". '' The Saturday Review'', November 15, 1947, (p.56) He was portrayed by Josef Moser in the 1921 Austrian silent film ''

The Grinning Face ''The Grinning Face'' (German:''Das grinsende Gesicht''), aka ''The Man Who Laughs'', is a 1921 Austrian-German silent horror film directed by Julius Herska and starring Franz Höbling, Nora Gregor and Lucienne Delacroix. It is an adaptation o ...

'' and by Sam De Grasse in the 1928 silent film '' The Man Who Laughs''. He has also been portrayed by Gibb McLaughlin in the 1926 silent film ''Nell Gwynne'', based on a novel by

Joseph Shearing Margaret Gabrielle Vere Long (née Campbell; 1 November 1885 – 23 December 1952), who used the pseudonyms Marjorie Bowen and Joseph Shearing, was a British author who wrote historical romances, supernatural horror stories, popular history and ...

, Lawrence Anderson in the 1934 film ''Nell Gwyn'', Vernon Steele in the 1935 film '' Captain Blood'', based on the

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

Rafael Sabatini Rafael Sabatini (29 April 1875 – 13 February 1950) was an Italian-born British writer of romance and adventure novels. He is best known for his worldwide bestsellers: ''The Sea Hawk'' (1915), ''Scaramouche'' (1921), ''Captain Blood'' (a.k.a ...

, Douglas Matthews in the 1938 BBC TV drama '' Thank You, Mr. Pepys!'', Henry Oscar in the 1948 film ''Bonnie Prince Charlie'', John Westbrook in the 1969 BBC TV series ''

The First Churchills ''The First Churchills'' is a BBC serial from 1969 about the life of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, and his wife, Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough. It stars John Neville as the duke and Susan Hampshire as the duchess, was writt ...

'', Guy Henry in the 1995 film ''

England, My England ''England, My England'' is a 1995 British historical film directed by Tony Palmer and starring Michael Ball, Simon Callow, Lucy Speed and Robert Stephens. It depicts the life of the composer Henry Purcell, seen through the eyes of a playwrigh ...

'', the story of the composer

Henry Purcell Henry Purcell (, rare: September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer. Purcell's style of Baroque music was uniquely English, although it incorporated Italian and French elements. Generally considered among the greatest E ...

, and Charlie Creed-Miles in the 2003 BBC TV miniseries '' Charles II: The Power & the Passion''. The squabbling surrounding James's kingship, the Monmouth Rebellion, the Glorious Revolution, James's abdication, and William of Orange's subsequent accession to the throne are themes in

Neal Stephenson Neal Town Stephenson (born October 31, 1959) is an American writer known for his works of speculative fiction. His novels have been categorized as science fiction, historical fiction, cyberpunk, postcyberpunk, and baroque. Stephenson's work exp ...

's 2003 novel ''

Quicksilver Quicksilver may refer to: * Quicksilver (metal), the chemical element mercury Arts and entertainment Music * Quicksilver, a bluegrass band fronted by Doyle Lawson * "Quicksilver" (song), a 1950 hit for Bing Crosby * ''Quicksilver'' (sound ...

''.

References

{{Cultural depictions of English and British monarchs

James II James II may refer to: * James II of Avesnes (died c. 1205), knight of the Fourth Crusade * James II of Majorca (died 1311), Lord of Montpellier * James II of Aragon (1267–1327), King of Sicily * James II, Count of La Marche (1370–1438), King C ...