Though elements of the novel might be lost in adaptation, Victor Hugo’s masterpiece is remembered through the appreciation of the actual Notre-Dame cathedral, which still stands in Paris today. 'The Hunchback of Notre-Dame' succeeded in bringing attention to centuries-old architecture, as well as revitalizing it. Does the Disney version, with its talking poker-playing gargoyles, really capture the foreboding tone of a novel where nearly every named character dies, asks film critic Lindsay Ellis in her video essay 'The Case for Disney’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame.' Each adaptation gained something for whatever else it changed or took away from the original source material. The novel’s many adaptations struggled to capture the entirety of the story and its themes.

Once published, it became an instant classic, and helped spearhead a renovation of the Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral, something Hugo had hoped for all along. Hugo took two years to actually write the book, since he kept getting distracted by other projects along the way. The novel is an epic, covering years of history, with the titular cathedral acting as the looming artifact that drives the entire novel, according to SparkNotes.

'The Hunchback of Notre-Dame' is one of two Victor Hugo novels that became extremely famous around the world, the other being 'Les Misérables.' 'Hunchback' was written and published first, in 1831, and is one of the first novels to use a city-wide, sprawling scope instead of an intense focus.

Victor hugo novel notre dame