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!

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.

Victor Hugo is a relentless Master.

Amazing story. Masterfully read. Encapsulates all one needs to know about virtue and passion.

Excellent suspenseful ending

I wouldn't recommend the unabridged version for the casual reader. Great French history and character development.

spectacular performance!

Oft told story brought alive by the brilliant narrator. The unabridged version lasted through numerous morning commutes.

Notredame

Read this once years ago, the audio version was a wonderful experience. The narrator did an amazing job playing so many characters.

Five stars are much too few!

I pointedly chose to listen to HoND subsequent to the April 2019 fire.
The book is magnificent! Hugo develops each of the characters meticulously, So, too, the setting: Paris in her architectural entirety - left and right banks, and the two small islands, Ile de la Cite and Ile de Saint Louis, in between - and of course the glorious cathedral. The story is heart-wrenching; (medi)evil pervades throughout and from all quarters, bearing down on two small islands of goodness - Quasimodo and La Esmeralda. Hugo didn't write this book for Disney's audience.
I had previously listened to another of Bill Homewood's narrations - Around the World in Eighty Days - and while I certainly enjoyed his performance then, this time around he so blew me away that I looked him up, and learned of his wealth of talents and accomplishments, and of the four or more rich lives he lives within the space of one being. You will do very well by choosing to listen to any audiobook that Homewood has considered worth his precious time to narrate.

great story

i nevet knew the whole of The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
This was a great listen. The reader 8s wonderful with all his different voices.
I loved it.

Hugo would have kissed Mr. Homewood on both cheeks

What did you love best about The Hunchback of Notre Dame?

If all you know of this book is popular movies (gag: disney) then you get an object lesson on what popular culture dumbs down FROM.

Any additional comments?

Hard to praise this reading enough. A classic treated with class.