Hunchback of Notre Dame Bestseller After Fire

The fire at the 850-year-old Notre-Dame Cathedral last week shocked the world, and our love affair with this old church is partly fuelled by Victor Hugo’s classic novel. The book, first published in March 1831 created a revival of love for the iconic building and the novel, and the following adaptations is much of the reason the Notre-Dame is so well known.

And now, Victor Hugo’s classic novel, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, known in French simply as Notre-Dame de Paris is at the top of Amazon’s bestseller list after a flurry of sales after the devastating fire. On Thursday morning there were four separate editions in Amazon’s top ten list, putting the novel at number 1, 3, 4, and 10 on the top ten list.

Other books such as the many books about the building’s history are also seeing a spike in sales, as the dreadful fire sparks interest in the building across France, and the world.

Since the blaze last Monday more than €800 million has been raised to help rebuild the Gothic cathedral that has stood in France for the last 800 years. While the Notre-Dame is a catholic church, it’s so much more than that and is the most visited building in Paris.

Some French booksellers are also reporting an increase in sales and are also calling for publishers of Victor Hugo’s book to make a donation to the fund. Disney, which created one of the best known adaptations of the book has now pledged $5 million to the fund too.