A Charming Little Note to Victor Hugo

I wish to thank you for your wonderful novel, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame.

Long was it on my list of books to read. Only when a friend commented that he was going to reread it, in honor of the 170th anniversary of its publication in English, did I decide I should wait no longer. I am sorry to say I had missed it for so long; yet perhaps my appreciation is that much stronger.

The story at its base is deceptively simple: the unrequited love of a gypsy, the jealousy of an archdeacon, and the revenge of a bell-ringer. Yet all around that we are treated to a richness of life. Paris teems. Each character is developed beyond the plot itself, so we feel they are absolutely real historical figures. In addition, there is an array of complex secondary characters, such as the gypsy's husband, and her mother, and the captain, and the brother of the archdeacon. Even the mob becomes a character in its own right.

Most memorable of all is the bell-ringer and title character Quasimodo. Except for Chapter Eight, Book Seven, in which the archdeacon spies on the gypsy and her lover the captain, Quasimodo is the center of the best scenes. Who will forget his crowing by the mob as the King of Fools, and then his escape from death at the hands of the same mob? Who would not be moved by his alternating care for and fear of the gypsy in the cathedral? Who does not wonder at his failure to bring the captain to her? And of course, he is the victim of the most outrageously funny scene in the book: the trial of a deaf defendant by a deaf judge.

And is there nothing more romantic than "The Marriage of Quasimodo" which ends the book?

From Chapter Three of Book Two, the story takes off, and drags in only a few spots in the following book. I find it difficult to say, because of my overarching fondness for this work, that early on your writing seems to wander in places. Of course, this is one of your earliest works, and such was the style at the time you wrote. Still, to this modern reader, the descriptions of Paris architecture and the mad ramblings of a king can be wearisome. Perhaps I will pick up an abridged version and see how it compares. What I fear by such an act is missing something some one else chose not to include. But, I do have your original vision intact.

I can honestly say that your novel Les Misérables, as the second adult book I ever read, was a huge catalyst to my desire to read more. Thank you for that, and for your hunchback.
Your Fan, Jeff Hill

p.s. I can't wait for your next book!!!