Marry the magical words of Victor Hugo, France's greatest storyteller, with the easy-to-read convenience of your PDA and the result is a gripping new approach to this powerful drama set amid the turbulence of the Paris of 1482.

Unlike the sugary Disney version, it remains totally faithful to the original novel, but so realistic that you feel yourself a vital part of the action. Sparkling colourful illustrations throughout not only help to set the scene but immerse you completely in the splendour and squalor of a city that gave birth to one of the most heart warming, yet most moving, stories ever told. You will find yourself steeped in the atmosphere of a medieval city that was dominated by the magnificent twin towers of Notre Dame, and you will be able to share in the trials and torments of Quasimodo, the lonely bellringer with arms of steel and a heart of gold. On all the pages, a tap of your stylus on certain words will take you to a description and explanation that will help to put the story, and its period, into context, and help you enjoy the narrative even more.

Victor Hugo, born in 1802, was a sickly child and the midwife said he would never live. But he survived, and at the age of 13 started writing essays and poetry. And before long he had become the most famous writer in France, if not in the world. Notre Dame de Paris, was published in 1831 and later translated into English as The Hunchback of Notre Dame. It was an outstanding success right from the start.

France saw him as a national figure throughout his long life and his 80th birthday was greeted with a procession of hundreds of thousands of people and the crowds stood cheering under his window for hours. Although he was now deaf he continued to write and several works only appeared after he died in 1885.

He had asked to be buried in a simple pauper's grave but instead he was given a state funeral. His coffin was placed under the Arc de Triomphe for an all-night vigil and the funeral procession took six hours to pass the millions who lined the streets.

The frail little boy who was not expected to live had survived 83 years, seeing two monarchies, two empires, two republics, two revolutions and a coup d'état.

Now his greatest story becomes an easy-to-read PDA classic, bringing its magic to many who have never read the original novel.

Quasimodo and the priest