The Hunchback of Notre-Dame Published

Victor Hugo's Notre-Dame de Paris, published March 16, 1831, depicted medieval Paris through the intertwined fates of bell-ringer Quasimodo, Esmeralda, and the cathedral itself. Hugo completed the manuscript in four months of intensive writing beginning September 1830. The first printing of 1,100 copies sold so rapidly that four additional printings followed within a month. The novel sparked a preservation movement for France's neglected Gothic architecture, directly influencing restoration efforts at Notre-Dame Cathedral.