The classic tale with an introduction and notes by Keith Wren, University of Kent at Canterbury.
Set in 1482, Victor Hugo's powerful novel of imagination, caprice, and fantasy is a meditation on love, fate, architecture, and politics, as well as a compelling recreation of the medieval world at the dawn of the modern age. In a brilliant reworking of the tale of Beauty and the Beast, Hugo creates a host of unforgettable characters, amongst them Quasimodo, the hunchback of the title, hopelessly in love with the gypsy girl Esmeralda; the satanic priest Claude Frollo; Clopin Trouillefou, king of the beggars; and Louis XI, King of France.
Over the course of the novel - both literally and symbolically - broods the Cathedral of Notre-Dame. Vivid characters and memorable set-piece action scenes combine to bring the past to life in this story of love, lust, betrayal, doom, and redemption.
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