Author:Matthew Lewis,Christopher MacLachlan
Matthew Lewis's Gothic masterpiece, depicting a holy man slowly becoming entangled in a web of sin, The Monk is edited with an introduction by Christopher MacLachlan in Penguin Classics.
Savaged by critics for its blasphemy and obscenity, particularly since the author was a Member of Parliament, The Monk soon attracted thousands of readers keen to see if this Gothic novel lived up to its lurid reputation. With acute psychological insight, Lewis shows the diabolical decline of Ambrosio, a worthy superior of the Capuchins of Madrid who is tempted by Matilda, a young girl who has entered his monastery disguised as a boy. Descending into a hell of his own creation, Ambrosio is driven to magic and murder in an attempt to conceal his crimes from the Inquisition. The Monk was greatly admired by the Marquis de Sade, who saw it as a response to the upheavals of the French Revolution, yet it also reveals something more universal: the way violent and erotic impulses lurking within us all can break through every barrier of social restraint.
Matthew Gregory Lewis (1775-1818) was educated at Oxford after which he held a position in the British Embassy at The Hague. It was there in 1794, that he wrote the racy novel The Monk, under the influence of the early German romantics. Its controversial publication in 1796, due to Lewis' new status as MP, earned him fame and the book a great deal of popularity.
If you enjoyed The Monk, you might like Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto, also available in Penguin Classics.
His is a voice which Europe cannot afford to ignore.
—— GuardianHis observation of human nature in all its facets is wonderfully accurate.
—— Sunday TelegraphOne of Maalouf's most subtle books, and without doubt one of his most accomplished.
—— Le PointSparkling and erudite, this is a wonderful novel.
—— IndependentA splendid book that should be read in the way one looks at a highly coloured fresco, allowing oneself to be transported by the breeze that wafts Balthasar on the most unexpected journeys.
—— Josette Alia , Nouvel ObservateurTerrific
—— Sunday TimesIndeed, if you want to understand what's going on in the world at this moment, you could certainly do worse than to read Maalouf on the past
—— GuardianA fine, unusual and rich book
—— Independent on Sunday[A] wonderful tale-its bewildered and worldly hero, facing a chaotic universe, makes this meticulously researched historical novel uniquely relevant
—— Scotland on Sunday