The Hunchback of Notre-Dame

       九世紀法國浪漫主義文豪維多‧雨果的經典創作
　　刻劃細膩的愛情，隨著鐘聲的響起，永遠封存於時間的洪流中……

　 　距今三百四十八年六個月又十九天的一個清晨，市區、大學區和城區這三重區域內所有的大小鐘聲齊響，驚醒了全巴黎的居民。這鐘聲既不是皮卡第人或勃艮地人 來襲，也不是聖物遊行、學生暴動、「我們最令人敬畏的國王陛下」進城，甚至不是正義宮廣場前絞死男女小偷的大快人心場面，更不是在十五世紀常見的某個外國 使節團盛裝且配戴羽飾地突然蒞臨。

　　一四八二年一月六日，這對其他人來說，或許不過是平淡無奇的生活中，另一個無聊的日子罷了，但對敲鐘人加西莫多來說，當他今早敲下第一聲鐘響時，他未曾料想到，這一天卻是改變他灰暗、孤僻的人生，一個重要的開端……

　　本書中譯本<<鐘樓怪人>>由希代出版

　　The Hunchback of Notre Dame (French: Notre-Dame de Paris) is an 1831 French novel written by Victor Hugo. It is set in 1482 in Paris, in and around the cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris. The book tells the story of a poor barefoot Gypsy girl (La Esmeralda) and a misshapen bell-ringer (Quasimodo) who was raised by the Archdeacon (Claude Frollo). The book was written as a statement to preserve the Notre Dame cathedral and not to 'modernize' it, as Hugo was thoroughly against this. The story begins during the Renaissance in 1482, the day of the Festival of Fools in Paris. Quasimodo, the deformed bell ringer, is introduced by his crowning as Pope of Fools. Esmeralda, a beautiful 16-year-old gypsy with a kind and generous heart, captures the hearts of many men but especially Quasimodo's adopted father, Claude Frollo. Frollo is torn between his lust and the rules of the church. He orders Quasimodo to get her. Quasimodo is caught and whipped and ordered to be tied down in the heat. Esmeralda seeing his thirst, offers him water. It saves her, for she captures the heart of the hunchback."

維多‧雨果Victor Hugo

　　維多‧雨果Victor Hugo出生於西元1802年的Victor Hugo維多‧雨果，處於浪漫主義澎湃又衰微、革命興起的十九世紀，在生活與工作上也出現與當代思潮相仿的兩極化，以至於他個人的生命歷程也充滿了轉變。
　　
　　由於父親是拿破崙軍隊的高階軍官，因此雨果的童年生活多在厄爾巴島、科西嘉島、那不勒斯等地度過。一直到拿破崙戰勝、統治法國後，雨果一家人才在貧困的巴黎定居下來。當時15歲的他，即以一首詩作參加由法蘭西學院舉辦的比賽，並自此展開了他的文學生涯。
　　
　 　24年後，39歲的雨果被推舉進入法蘭西學院，他以詩、劇作及小說帶領了法國文學界的創新革命。接著他又投入政治圈，並在1848年贏得國家議會的席 位。正當他在文壇與政壇展現出如此意氣風發的一面時，卻由於公開強烈反對路易拿破崙而自1851年開始被迫離開巴黎，展開其放逐國外十餘年的生活。流亡期 間，他儼然成為法國人心中反對帝制的象徵。
　　
　　西元1870年法國大革命之後，雨果返回巴黎，他因為被視為民族英雄而受到熱烈的歡迎。回國後，他不僅繼續擔任公職，同時更持續不斷地創作，直到1885年死亡為止。由於雨果對法國政壇與文壇有著卓越顯著的貢獻，因此死後便被葬於巴黎偉人墓園中，供世人景仰懷念。

　 　Victor-Marie Hugo was born in Besançon, France in 1802. A precocious writer, in 1827 he published his epic verse drama Cromwell, a political allegory whose preface might be regarded as a Romanticist manifesto. The Hunchback of Notre-Dame followed in 1831 and throughout the following decade he wrote a number of plays, stories and poetry collections. However, his literary output in the few years after 1843, when his daughter died in a drowning accident, was sparse. He began a new novel as an outlet for his grief, but would only complete it many years later as Les Misérables (1862). He died in 1885.