THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE-DAME

The Hunchback of Notre Dame is one of the great love stories but it is served up with lashings of horror. An instant classic first published in 1831, it's set in the Paris of the 15th century, featuring a cast of thousands. Three men are in love with a beautiful street dancer called Esmerelda: the handsome Captain Phoebus, the wicked Archdeacon Frollo and his adoptive son Quasimodo, the bell-ringer of the cathedral. Naturally, this situation leads to trouble. Wrongly accused of murdering Phoebus, Esmerelda is sentenced to death and rescued from the gallows by Quasimodo, who memorably carries her up to the tower. Victor Hugo claimed he wrote this book to save Paris's amazing gothic centre-piece from the 'demolishers'. And such was the success of his book that the immense building had to be restored to cope with the influx of tourists its popularity produced.