'The Monk was so highly popular that it seemed to
create an epoch in our literature', wrote Sir Walter
Scott. Set in the sinister monastery of the Capuchins in
Madrid, The Monk is a violent tale of ambition, murder,
and incest. The great struggle between maintaining
monastic vows and fulfilling personal ambitions leads
its main character, the monk Ambrosio, to temptation and
the breaking of his vows, then to sexual obsession and
rape, and finally to murder in order to conceal his
guilt. Inspired by German horror romanticism and the
work of Ann Radcliffe, Lewis produced his masterpiece at
the age of nineteen. It contains many typical Gothic
elements - seduction in a monastery, lustful monks, evil
Abbesses, bandits and beautiful heroines. But, as the
Introduction to this new edition shows, Lewis also
played with convention, ranging from gruesome realism to
social comedy, and even parodied the genre in which he
was writing. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford
World's Classics has made available the widest range of
literature from around the globe.Each affordable volume
reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing
the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable
features, including expert introductions by leading
authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text,
up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much
more. |
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