Hugo’s Notre-Dame of Paris: The Birth of Romantic Fiction (MP3 download)

By Shoshana Milgram Ayn Rand, speaking in sense-of-life terms, said that Hugo gave her "the feeling of entering a cathedral."  In his first great novel, Hugo presented both a literal cathedral and the essence of the concept: the guardian of sacred value. Combining the sweep of the epic with the intensity of the drama, Hugo created a new form of literature, with an intricate plot, excruciating conflicts and life-or-death issues. This course shows how Notre-Dame became, as Hugo intended, "a drama beyond the ordinary proportions." (MP3 download; 6 hrs., with Q & A, 264 MB)