Victor Hugo 
Notre Dame de Paris 

The epic tale of Esmeralda and Quasimodo, set in Paris in 1482. Wikipedia reports: ‘The enormous popularity of the book in France spurred the nascent historical preservation movement in that country and strongly encouraged Gothic revival architecture. Ultimately it led to major renovations at Notre-Dame in the 19th century led by Eugene Viollet-le-Duc. Much of the cathedral’s present appearance is a result of this renovation.’ First published in 1831. According to Wikipedia: ‘Victor-Marie Hugo (1802 – 1885) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, essayist, visual artist, statesman, human rights activist and exponent of the Romantic movement in France. In France, Hugo’s literary reputation rests primarily on his poetic and dramatic output and only secondarily on his novels. Among many volumes of poetry, Les Contemplations and La Légende des siècles stand particularly high in critical esteem, and Hugo is sometimes identified as the greatest French poet. Outside France, his best-known works are the novels Les Misérables and Notre-Dame de Paris (sometimes translated into English as The Hunchback of Notre Dame).’