The Hunchback of Notre Dame

The Hunchback of Notre-Dame is a French Romantic/Gothic novel by Victor Hugo, published in 1831. Paris, 1482. The gypsy Esmeralda captures the hearts of many men, including those of Captain Phoebus and Pierre Gringoire, but especially Quasimodo and his guardian Archdeacon Claude Frollo. Frollo is torn between his obsessive lust for Esmeralda and the rules of the Notre Dame Cathedral. He orders bandits to kidnap her, but the hunchback is captured by Phoebus and his guards, who save Esmeralda. Pierre, who attempted to help Esmeralda but was knocked out by Quasimodo, is about to be hung by beggars when Esmeralda saves him by agreeing to marry him for four years.