The Hunchback of Notre Dame

By: Victor Hugo

Narrated by: Bill Homewood

In the grotesque bell-ringer Quasimodo, Victor Hugo created one of the most vivid characters in classic fiction. Quasimodo's doomed love for the beautiful gypsy girl Esmeralda is an example of the traditional love theme of beauty and the beast. Yet, set against the massive background of Notre Dame de Paris and interwoven with the sacred and secular life of medieval France, it takes on a larger perspective. The characters come to life: the poet, Gringoire; the tormented priest, Claude Frollo; the fun-loving captain, Phoebus; and, above all, Quasimodo and Esmeralda themselves. It is a tale peppered with humor but fueled by the anguish that unfolds beneath the bells of the great cathedral of Paris.

Download the accompanying reference guide.Public Domain (P)2014 Naxos AudioBooks

Beautifully Tragic

Loved most of this story -- LOVED Bill Homewood's performance. He did such an amazing job at carrying this beautiful classic. I did find the story tedious at times given the long passages about architecture and items that didn't follow Frollo, Esmeralda or Quasimodo, but oh man! -- this was such a great masterfully written and narrated story. Definitely recommend!

Beautiful Reading

The reader was absolutely amazing! He put such feelings into the characters that many times I got teary-eyed. I highly recommend this version of the book.

Great classic.

Not having read this book in school, I did not know what to expect. The story started out a bit slow, with a lot of establishment, but became intensely interesting. The narration was fantastic and carried the story along. The narrator's accents and inflections were perfect and a pleasure to listen to. This was the second book I have listened to narrated by Bill Homewood (the other was The Count of Monte Cristo) and he is wonderful at the French accent and giving each of the characters their own voice. Now that I have listened to The Hunchback of Notre Dame I am interested in the theater production. Thank you for for an excellent audiobook.

definitely not a children's story

Pasque Dieu! Another worthy classic checked off of the list. Truly a great story with superb narration.

Quasimodo

Good Story. Performance definitely added to the enjoyment. Not sure if Quasimodo occupied enough of the book for me. I wonder now how Lon Chaney's portrayal compares. I will know soon as it was always my plan to find out after reading this book.