The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, written by Victor Hugo and first published in 1831, is a classic French Gothic novel that takes place in fifteenth-century Paris. The story revolves around the lives of several characters, including the deformed bell-ringer Quasimodo, the beautiful Gypsy Esmeralda, the manipulative Archdeacon Claude Frollo and the dashing soldier Phoebus de Chateaupers. The novel masterfully weaves their intertwining stories against the backdrop of the imposing Notre-Dame Cathedral, which plays a central role in the narrative.