Victor Hugo

n the vaulted Gothic towers of Notre-Dame Cathedral lives Quasimodo, the hunchbacked bellringer. Mocked and shunned for his appearance, he is pitied only by Esmerelda, a beautiful gypsy dancer to whom he becomes completely devoted. Esmerelda, however, has also attracted the attention of the sinister archdeacon Claude Frollo, and when she rejects his lecherous approaches, Frollo hatches a plot to destroy her, that only Quasimodo can prevent. Victor...

Ninety-Three (1874) is the final novel of Victor Hugo. As a work of historical fiction, the story is set during the period of conflict between the newly formed French Republic and the Royalists who sought to reverse the gains of the revolution. Praised for its morality and honest depiction of the horrors of war, Ninety-Three influenced such wide-ranging political thinkers as Joseph Stalin and Ayn Rand. "The soldiers forced cautiously. Everything was...

Complete and unabridged. Translated from the French by Charles E. Wilbour.

Translated by Nathan Haskell Dole.

Contents: Toilers of the sea.--Bug jargal.

Jean Valjean is paroled after serving 19 years in prison for stealing some bread. He tries to steal silverware from a missionary, but is set straight by a bishop. Nine years later, Valjean is now a wealthy industrialist and mayor. He eventually befriends Fantine, a single mother turned prostitute and risks all when he helps her after she's nearly arrested by police officer Javert. Javert was a guard at the prison Valjean was in and is suspicious...

Quasimodo ventures from his tower to the joyous festival of fools, but the crowd turns cruel and rejects him because of the way he looks. The gypsy Esmeralda rescues him and he finds himself battling to save the people and the city he loves--while reminding us to see people as they are rather than how they appear.