Product Description

One of the most extravagantly dark works of Gothic fiction ever written in English, admired by the likes of Lord Byron and the Marquis de Sade, The Monk drew a firestorm of criticism when it was published in 1796. Contemporaries condemned it as "lewd," "libidinous and impious." "Lust, murder, incest, and every atrocity that can disgrace human nature," one critic cried, "brought together, without the apology of probability, or even possibility." Of course, it was an immediate best seller. Written by Matthew Lewis at the tender age of nineteen, The Monk tells of the violent downfall of the monk Ambrosio. Idolized by all Madrid for his spotless character, the proud Ambrosio is privately tormented with lust for Matilda and, once sated, with overpowering desire for the pure and innocent Antonia, whom he rapes and murders in the crypt of Saint Clare. Sentenced to death by the Inquisition, he sells his soul to the devil, with unusually bad results. But the plot is only part of the book's appeal. The Monk is a bubbling cauldron of Horror characters and motifs. Ghosts, murderous banditti, the Wandering Jew, a gypsy fortune teller, the Bleeding Nun, the Grand Inquisitor, and Satan himself all have roles in the drama. Characters are buried alive, tortured, tempted by demons, and torn apart by riotous mobs, in settings that include castles, monasteries, and dungeons. Stephen King, in his introduction to this edition, calls The Monk "a black engine of sex and the supernatural that changed the genre-and the novel itself-forever." Everyone who loves the novels of King will find this book irresistible.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1262037 in Books
• Published on: 2002-10-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 464 pages

Review
"The most ornate and sensational, and the true classic of its kind, in large part because it takes its supernatural trappings far more seriously than its rivals."--The Weekly Standard

About the Author
Matthew Lewis wrote only one novel, The Monk, which made him a literary celebrity. Thereafter known as "Monk" Lewis, he wrote many plays, mainly spectacular melodramas and comedies, many of which proved extremely successful. He also produced some volumes of poetry, and was well respected as a poet.
Stephen King is the best-selling author of dozens of novels, including such horror classics as The Shining, Carrie, Salem's Lot, Dreamcatcher, It, and Bag of Bones, to name just a few.

Customer Reviews

The most influential novel of Gothic horror
The Monk is perhaps the most significant and certainly the most controversial of the Gothic novels of the late 18th century. Amazingly, its author, nineteen-year-old Matthew Lewis, wrote the novel in a period of only six weeks. Although inspired by the work of Ann Radcliffe (among other Gothic writers), Lewis goes far beyond the sensibilities of his predecessors and does not choose to explain away the supernatural events fuelling this inflammatory novel. The Monk is a tale of human evil in its most vile form; the unspeakable acts described in these pages are committed by the supposedly most devout individuals in society. The Catholic Church was incensed with the novel's publication, and it is actually quite remarkable that The Monk was published at all and that its author faced nothing more dire than censorship and indignant protest as a consequence of it.

Ambrosio is the most celebrated, revered monk in Madrid (in the era of the infamous Spanish Inquisition)-his sermons attract crowds far too large to gain admittance to the sanctuary, and everyone holds him up as a veritable saint walking the earth. His fall from grace is precipitous indeed. Secretly, Ambrosio is vain and proud, blissfully assured of his own near-perfection. At the first temptation of lust, however, this holy man reveals himself to be the ultimate hypocrite, giving in rather easily to the type of desire he rails against each Sunday. After learning that his friend Rosario is in fact a lovely woman in disguise named Matilda, he revels in the love she declares for him and quickly becomes her secret lover. Quickly and ever more thoroughly consumed by his new-found passion and carnal lasciviousness, he grows tired of the ever-willing Matilda and turns his perverted eye toward the sweet and wholly innocent young Antonia. Through the witchcraft of Matilda, he comes to consort with demons in the sacred crypts underneath the abbey itself, giving up his morality and piety in the blind pursuit of actions worse than mere rape.

Ambrosio is not the only hypocritical, secretly sinful church official in Madrid, however. The prioress of the convent bordering the abbey is a sickeningly cruel and spiteful agent of perfidy herself. When she discovers that Agnes, one of her novitiates, is pregnant, she is so mortified at the impending shame this fact will bring down upon her and the convent that she resorts to the most barbaric of punishments for the poor and pitiable young lady. While her crimes do not quite exceed those of Ambrosio, the devastating consequences of her sinful acts result in long-lasting, deeply grievous repercussions. Justice is not blind in the end to such willful violators of God's laws.

The novel takes a while to really come together. After seeing Ambrosio in his publicly sanctimonious guise and watching his pitiful descent into the passions and lusts inspired by Matilda, we spend a great deal of time becoming acquainted with Antonia, Agnes, and the gentlemen who love them and will eventually fight bravely to try and save them both physically and morally from their sad fates. The story of the Bleeding Nun apparition is an important part of this section of the book and gives the reader his first real introduction to the supernatural aspects of the story. It is almost possible to forget about Ambrosio completely for a time; when he returns to the story, however, he commits unspeakable acts and profanes the very name of the God he supposedly serves in such excess that he earns a permanent spot in the annals of literature's most despicable villains.

It is in the crypts, among the moldering corpses of the dead, that the most blasphemous acts take place. Antonia's fate is quite horrible, but it is actually Agnes' tale of woe that takes the reader to the most horrific of extremes. Just when the worst seems to be over, we learn in graphic detail the almost unimaginable extent of the ordeal suffered by Agnes and her innocent child-the tale is quite gruesome even by today's standards, almost unimaginably so by those of Lewis' own time. The suffering of the innocent Agnes and Antonia is, in my opinion, unparalleled in the realm of Gothic horror.

Even some critics who are less than found of the Gothic horror genre have embraced this novel, partly because it does distinguish itself from the more Romantic writings of an author such as Ann Radcliffe. As such, it seems less pretentious and much more visceral than the typical Gothic tome. Lewis holds nothing back in presenting his portrayal of evil in the hearts of men and women. There is a love story aspect to the events surrounding Agnes and Antonia, but the author does not indulge in flowery descriptions of love, nor does he concern himself with rapturous expositions on the beauty of nature. There is very little of beauty to be found in these pages at all, and what innocence exists is ultimately lost at the hands of corrupted servants of God. With such complexity underlying the plot, The Monk is open to a number of interpretations, and its microscopic portrayal of evil's power to overcome the best of men and women continues to fascinate and leave a lasting impression on one generation of readers after another. Even in our own time, The Monk is more than capable of shocking the reader with its unbridled revelations.

a fine gothic novel perfectly suited to winter nights.
I asked for this book because I read a thumb-nail review describing it as "the most gothic of its genre". While not a fan of the historical novels, I really like the idea of gothic fiction - the swooning, the alarming twists of fate, insane coincidences and secret passages. "The Monk" offered plenty of these.

Censured soon after its publication, its author an MP, and admired by none other than the Marquis de Sade, the book acquired an unparalleled reputation for raciness of the highest order. Naturally, it lags behind today's foil fronted blockbusters. The story concerns the comings and goings surrounding adjacent monastery and convent in Madrid and the various back-stories of those associated with inhabitants and extra mural players. Lascivious monks, repressed nuns and gallant aristos all sound a wee bit cheap, but it's all done so well. The language is very much of its era, but the motoring plot and adeptly juxtaposed accounts are sufficient to keep even the most ardent archaism-basher happy. For an 18th century classic, it is very readable. Lewis was also a playwright, and so it follows that the narrative is very rich visually, playing, as successful gothic novels should, with all the senses.

The most obvious comparison to be drawn is with "The Name of the Rose". Umberto Eco's ornate medieval detective story weighed heavily on me - with it's sheer bulk of pagination and knowing-style, I found it a frustrating read. "The Monk" however, had a real lightness of touch and despite magpie like borrowings from European literary traditions and sleaziness, its flair and structure knock "The Name of the Rose" into a cocked hat.

Glorious gore and gothicry
If you're looking for action, atmosphere, adventure all heavily heaped on with the literary sheen of age, The Monk has it all - gloriously over the top it may be, but a read you won't forget!