At the center of Hugo's classic novel are three extraordinary characters caught in a web of fatal obsession. The grotesque hunchback Quasimodo, bell-ringer of Notre-Dame, owes his life to the austere archdeacon, Claude Frollo, who in turn is bound by a hopeless passion to the gypsy dancer Esmeralda. She, meanwhile, is bewitched by a handsome, empty-headed officer, but by an unthinking act of kindness wins Quasimodo's selfless devotion. Behind the central figures moves a pageant of picturesque characters, including the underworld of beggars and petty criminals whose assault on the cathedral is one of the most spectacular set-pieces of Romantic literature. Alban Kraisheimer's new translation offers a fresh approach to this monumental work by France's most celebrated Romantic authors.
| Introduction |
|
vii | |
| Note on the Text |
|
xxvi | |
| Select Bibliography |
|
xxvii | |
| A Chronology of Victor Hugo |
|
xxviii | |
|
|
|
1 | (540) |
| Note on Money |
|
541 | (2) |
| Explanatory Notes |
|
543 | |