The Hunchback of Notre-Dame

Setin1482,VictorHugo'spowerfulnovelof'imagination,capriceandfantasy'isameditationonlove,fate,architectureandpolitics,aswellasacompellingrecreationofthemedievalworldatthedawnofthemodernage.InabrilliantreworkingofthetaleofBeautyandtheBeast,Hugocreatesahostofunforgettablecharacters-amongstthem,Quasimodo,thehunchbackofthetitle,hopelesslyinlovewiththegypsygirlEsmeralda,thesatanicpriestClaudeFrollo,ClopinTrouillefou,kingofthebeggars,andLouisXI,KingofFrance.Overtheentirenovel,bothliterallyandsymbolically,broodstheCathedralofNotre-Dame.Vividcharactersandmemorableset-pieceactionscenescombinetobringthepasttolifeinthisstoryoflove,lust,betraval,doomandredemption.