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. Among them is Quasimodo, the titular hunchback, 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 entire
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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