Hunchback of Notre Dame
The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (French: Notre-Dame de Paris, lit. 'Our Lady of Paris', originally titled Notre-Dame
de Paris. 1482) is a French Gothic novel by Victor Hugo, published in 1831. It details the story
of Quasimodo, the disabled bell-ringer of Notre-Dame, as he
struggles to stand up to his ableist father Claude Frollo, who also wants to commit genocide against
Paris' Romani population.
The novel has been described as a key
text in French literature and has been adapted for film over a dozen
times, in addition to numerous television and stage adaptations, such as a 1923
silent film with Lon Chaney, a 1939 sound
film with Charles Laughton, and a 1996
Disney animated film with Tom Hulce.
The novel sought to preserve values
of French culture in a
time period of great change, which resulted in the destruction of many French Gothic structures.
The novel made Notre-Dame de Paris a
national icon and served as a catalyst for renewed interest in the restoration
of Gothic form.