Product Description

Created by an Irish clergyman, Melmoth is one of the most fiendish characters in literature. In a satanic bargain, Melmoth exchanges his soul for immortality. The story of his tortured wanderings through the centuries is pieced together through those who have been implored by Melmoth to take over his pact with the devil. Influenced by the Gothic romances of the late 18th century, Maturin's diabolic tale raised the genre to a new and macabre pitch. Its many admirers include Poe, Balzac, Oscar Wilde and Baudelaire.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #144490 in Books
• Published on: 2004-02-05
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 704 pages

About the Author
Charles Robert Maturin (1782-1824) was born in Dublin and educated at Trinity College. He took orders and worked as a curate in Loughrea and Dublin. Maturin enjoyed literary success with his Gothic novels and a tragedy 'Bertram' (1816). His later plays and fiction, including MELMOTH THE WANDERER, were neglected and he died in poverty. Victor Sage is Reader in Literature in the School of English and American Studies at the University of East Anglia.

Customer Reviews

An unknown classic. Highly recommended.
Can't decide whether I prefer this, or "The Monk" by M. Lewis. The Monk is an easier read and is faster paced, but Melmoth really has an evil, demonic quality which is far darker than anything that the Monk has to offer. Parts of it really are bizarre. One of the most oddball books that I have ever read. The narrative hops around through several different times and locations which can be a little confusing, but overall, SO much more interesting and infinately better written than most of today's drivel. Highly recommended !

A dark masterpiece.
Oh, to have listened to one of the author's sermons! This book is clever beyond the reach of any of its contemporaries (and certainly beyond anything in the modern horror genre) taking one from misery to misery, to the very depths of human despair, but all the time reminding that there is another level; when things are at their blackest, there are still lengths to which one would not go.

Beautifully written, immesely evocative, each of the stories within is worthy of publication alone, the sum is a masterpiece.

A faustian tale with a rich variety of sub plots.
The sable fastness of the ocean's bosom is not blacker than Melmoth's heart! Yet I doubt not it will afford readers the keenest pleasure to discover those crimes of his nature and conscience alike enjoin us to condemn. Doomed by Satanic pact to wander the earth , Melmoth stives to tempt others to share his fate, scouring the dungeons of the Spanish Inquisition, amonst other places, for his victims, seeking those in the direst extremity of suffering- those for whom his bargain will seem an unexpected mercy. I can most heartily recommend this book, as being no less instructive than it is entertaining, and fashioned in such a manner as to appeal to all lovers of the strange.