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The Hunchback of Notre-DameThe 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.

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 and threatened to trivialise the vibrancy of 15th century France. The novel made Notre-Dame de Paris a national icon and served as a catalyst for renewed interest in the restoration of Gothic form.

Plot
The story is set in Paris in 1482 during the reign of Louis XI. Esmeralda, a beautiful, sixteen-year-old Romani dancer, is the romantic and sexual interest of many men; including Captain Phoebus de Chateaupers; poet Pierre Gringoire; hunchbacked cathedral bell-ringer Quasimodo, and his guardian Archdeacon Claude Frollo. Frollo is torn between his obsessive lust for Esmeralda and the rules of Notre Dame Cathedral. He orders Quasimodo to kidnap her, but Quasimodo is captured by Phoebus and his guards. After he saves her, Esmeralda becomes besotted with Phoebus. Gringoire, who attempted to help Esmeralda but was knocked out by Quasimodo, unwittingly wanders into the "Court of Miracles", populated by the Roma and the truands. They are about to hang him for being an outsider, but Esmeralda saves him by agreeing to marry him for four years.

The following day, Quasimodo is sentenced to be flogged and turned on the pillory for two hours, followed by another hour's public exposure. He calls for water. Esmeralda, seeing his thirst, approaches the public stocks and offers him a drink of water. It saves him, and she captures his heart.

Later, Frollo follows Phoebus to an inn where he plans to meet Esmeralda and watches as the captain seduces the girl. Inflamed with jealousy, Frollo stabs Phoebus. Esmeralda is arrested and charged with both the attempted murder of Phoebus and of witchcraft, and is sentenced to death by hanging. While imprisoned, awaiting her execution, Esmeralda is visited by Frollo. The Archdeacon professes his love for her and promises to help her escape if she reciprocates. However, recognizing him as Phoebus' true attacker, she angrily rebuffs him. As Esmeralda is being led to the gallows, Quasimodo swings down from Notre-Dame and carries her off to the cathedral, temporarily protecting her�under the law of sanctuary�from arrest.

Frollo later informs Gringoire that the Court of Parlement has voted to remove Esmeralda's right to the sanctuary so she can no longer seek shelter in the cathedral and will be taken away to be executed. Clopin Trouillefou, the leader of the Roma, hears the news from Gringoire and rallies the Court of Miracles to charge the Notre-Dame and rescue Esmeralda.

When Quasimodo sees the Roma, he assumes they are there to hurt Esmeralda, so he drives them off. As Quasimodo defends the cathedral against the invaders, the uproar reaches the king, who is incorrectly informed that those attacking the cathedral are eager for Esmeralda's hanging rather than trying to rescue her. The king orders the authorities to dispatch the invaders and calls for Esmeralda's immediate execution to settle the unrest. In the chaos Esmeralda is taken from the cathedral by Frollo and Gringoire.

Frollo once again attempts to win Esmeralda's love, but the girl asserts that she would rather die than be with him. Frollo betrays Esmeralda; he goes to alert the authorities while trapping her with Sister Gudule, a reclusive anchoress who bears an extreme hatred for the Roma as she believes they cannibalized her infant daughter. However, it is revealed that Gudule is really Esmeralda's birth mother, and that Esmeralda is Gudule's long-lost daughter Agnes, abducted and raised by the Roma. The two women's joyous reunion is cut short when the king's men arrive to take Esmeralda to the gallows. A desperate Gudule clings to Esmeralda even as she is taken to the place of execution. The guards pull the old woman off her daughter; and she falls to the pavement and dies from the harsh impact.

From the tower of Notre-Dame, Frollo and Quasimodo witness as Esmeralda is hanged. Frollo laughs triumphantly at Esmeralda's death; upon observing this, Quasimodo pushes the Archdeacon from the height of cathedral to his death. With nothing left to live for, Quasimodo vanishes and is never seen again.

In the original, Quasimodo's skeleton is found many years later in the charnel house, a mass grave into which the bodies of the destitute and criminals were indiscriminately thrown, implying that Quasimodo had sought Esmeralda among the decaying corpses and lay beside her, letting himself slowly die while holding her. As the guards attempt to pull the embracing skeletons apart, his skeleton crumbles to dust.

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