The Hunchback of Notre Dame , by Victor Hugo , is part of the Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes & Noble Classics :

All editions are beautifully designed and are printed to superior specifications; some include illustrations of historical interest. Barnes & Noble Classics pulls together a constellation of influencesbiographical, historical, and literaryto enrich each reader's understanding of these enduring works. 0in 0in 0pt">one of the first great novels of the Romantic era, Victor Hugo ’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame has thrilled generations of readers with its powerfully melodramatic story of Quasimodo, the deformed hunchback who lives in the bell tower of medieval Paris’s most famous cathedral.

Feared and hated by all, Quasimodo is looked after by Dom Claude Frollo, a stern, cold priest who ignores the poor hunchback in the face of his frequent public torture. But someone steps forward to helpthe beautiful gypsy Esmeralda, whose single act of kindness fills Quasimodo with love. Can the hunchback save the lovely gypsy from Frollo’s evil plan, or will they all perish in the shadows of Notre Dame?

An epic tale of beauty and sadness, The Hunchback of Notre Dame portrays the sufferings of humanity with compassion and power.

Isabel Roche teaches French language and literature at Bennington College. She specializes in the nineteenth-century French novel.

維剋多·雨果（Victor Hugo，1802—1885）

法國作傢。法國浪漫主義文學的重要代錶。1841年當選法蘭西語文學院院士。生於軍官傢庭。長篇小說《巴黎聖母院》反對專製和教會。1861—1869年完成長篇小說《悲慘世界》，從人道主義觀點描寫資本主義社會的罪惡。《海上勞工》歌頌浪漫主義愛情在與大自然鬥爭和剋服人性弱點方麵的巨大精神力量。《笑麵人》通過流浪藝人的悲慘遭遇，描寫人民的苦難生活。1874年完成長篇小說《九三年》，描寫法國革命高潮一年的動人場景。其他作品有詩作《曆代傳說集》，歌頌曆史上人民反對罪惡統治者的鬥爭。還寫有政論和演說稿等。