Fun Facts Friday: The Hunchback of Notre Dame

April 8, 2011

Even though it took me a while to get into The Hunchback of Notre Dame I was very impressed with the book (book review) and thought the last 200 pages were certainly work trudging through some of it.

1) The original title of the book is “Notre Dame de Paris” which translates into “Our Lady of Paris” – a much more fitting title in my opinion.

2) Victor Hugo made it clear that the main character in the novel is the cathedral and not any of the characters.

3) Victor Hugo was strongly against the English title.
4) Don Claude Frollo named the abandoned child he found in the church “Quasimodo” because he found him on Quasimodo Sunday.

5) “Quasi modo” in Latin translates to “almost standard” but actually means “similar to”. Believe it or not this name is in line with common medieval naming conventions.

Factual Friday: The Hunchback of Notre DameThe Hunchback by Brian Bustard – Purchase a Print

6) Quasimodo has fifteen bells but his favorite is named “Big Marie”

7) In the novel, Esmeralda is 14-16 years old.

8 ) Esmeralda is charged with witchcraft, among other offenses.

9) One of the subplots is Esmeralda’s search for her mother.

10) There are two historical characters in the novel: King Louis XI and the poet Pierre Gringoire.

Paris as seen from the top of Notre Dame Cathedral.

Zohar – Man of la Book

--- Please like and follow ManOfLaBook.com ---
Summary
Factual Friday: The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Article Name
Fun Facts Friday: The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Description
Even though it took me a while to get into The Hunchback of Notre Dame I was very impressed with the book (book review) and thought the last 200 pages were certainly work trudging through some of it.
Author
Publisher Name
Man of la Book - A Bookish Blog
Publisher Logo

7 Comments

  • Kate {The Parchment Girl}April 8, 2011 at 2:16 pm

    Wow, I had no idea that the cathedral was meant to be the main “character.” Interesting facts!

  • AimeeApril 8, 2011 at 5:21 pm

    Just hoppin through from FF! I’m a new follower. My FF is at Coffee Table Reviews

  • Alex BaughApril 9, 2011 at 8:23 am

    I like you factoids. I always like knowing things like there. A piece a trivia relating back to The Hunchback of Notre Dame: in the film Death in Venice, the boat that took Gustav Ashenbach to his hotel was called the Esmeralda after the girl in the book. Can’t remember if Thomas Mann did in the book (but I think he did, it has be about 20 years since I read it)

    Re: Thanks for the comment. Uncle Misha’s Partisans – you probably need to comb second hand stores for this book. Are you saying that the Jews in the partisan group your uncle was in hated each other?

    • zoharApril 9, 2011 at 8:43 am

      The Partisans fought the Germans but many were just as anti-Semitic as the Nazis were.

      • Alex BaughApril 12, 2011 at 7:18 am

        Ok, I knew this about some of the partisans,but I in Yuri Suhl work and especially in Uncle Misha’s Partisans, they are all Jewish partisans, though other partisan groups are mentioned.

  • the Notre Dame CathedralDecember 31, 2014 at 1:44 pm

    Love Paris ? come to visit the Notre Dame Cathedral. For real

  • Tourists love the Notre Dame CathedralDecember 31, 2014 at 1:50 pm

    Visit the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris for cheap

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

− 1 = 3

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Social media & sharing icons powered by UltimatelySocial
RSS
Twitter
Visit Us
Follow Me
Post on X
Pinterest
Pinterest
fb-share-icon