Notre-Dame de Paris, written by Victor Hugo and published in 1831, is a Gothic masterpiece set in 15th-century Paris. The story centers on Quasimodo, the deformed bell-ringer of Notre-Dame Cathedral, who falls devotedly in love with the beautiful gypsy dancer Esmeralda. Esmeralda is also desired by the obsessive archdeacon Claude Frollo, whose destructive lust drives the tragedy, and by the handsome yet faithless captain Phoebus. When Esmeralda is falsely accused of murder and sentenced to death, Quasimodo rescues her and grants her sanctuary within the cathedral. Through themes of love, fate, beauty, and social injustice, Hugo's novel became an enduring classic of world literature.
