The Demon of Sicily: A Romance (200th Anniversary Edition) (Gothic Classics) [Paperback]

Edward Montague (Author), Jo Beverley (Foreword)

Book Description

Series: Gothic Classics | Publication Date: September 30, 2007

"Infinitely more extravagant than The Monk." -- Montague Summers.

"Outstanding among the many pallid imitations of The Monk...the Gothic's Gothic of the first decade of the nineteenth century." -- Prof. Frederick S. Frank, The First Gothics

The Devil stalks the monastery of Santa Catherina in the form of the mysterious Demon of Sicily, seeking new souls to plunge into everlasting torment. He sets his sights on Father Bernardo, a young priest questioning his vows, and Sister Agatha, a depraved and licentious nun. The Demon, a supernatural being of seemingly unlimited power, promises Bernardo and Agatha fulfilment of their wanton sexual urges, in exchange for their souls!

Inspired by M. G. Lewis's The Monk, The Demon of Sicily outdoes Lewis's novel in its outrageous depiction of sex and violence. Featuring a parade of victims who are kidnapped, imprisoned, impaled, decapitated, drowned, rent asunder by demons, and burnt at the stake, The Demon of Sicily is sure to astonish readers even today, two hundred years after its first publication!

This 200th Anniversary Edition includes the unabridged text of the rare 1807 first edition, together with seventeen lurid illustrations from the 1839 edition published by the infamous pornographer William Dugdale. This edition also features a new foreword by New York Times and USA Today bestselling novelist Jo Beverley, whose heroine reads The Demon of Sicily in her novel An Arranged Marriage (1999).

Product Details

• Paperback: 332 pages
• Publisher: Valancourt Books; 200 Anv edition (September 30, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1934555118
• ISBN-13: 978-1934555118
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #106,205 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Excellent reworking of 'The Monk'", November 6, 2007

By 

A Customer - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Demon of Sicily: A Romance (200th Anniversary Edition) (Gothic Classics) (Paperback)

Montegue Summers writes of the extremes of this novel, and it is violent! Inspired by M. G. Lewis' THE MONK this novel is far more extreme and grotesque; and the plot is even more intricate. The idea of the perverse monk fascinated the Anglican public in the 18th and 19th Century; and let's not forget that in the 1550 edition of the Common Prayer Book, part of the Litany for the Ordination of Decons reads: "From all sedicion and pryvie conspiracie, from the tyrannye of the Bysshop of Rome, and al hys detestable enormities... 'Good Lord, Deliver Us.'" Crimes of monks and nuns and their melancholy disposition are prevalent throughout Gothic novels, appearing in Radcliffe's The Mysteries of Udolpho (Oxford World's Classics) and The Italian; or, The Confessional of the Black Penitents (Valancourt Classics) (Valancourt Classics)

This is a lovely edition featuring cartoonish, but bloody, illustrations from the 1839 edition printed by one of London's most notorious pornographers. The relationship between the monk and the nun is similar to William Henry Ireland's Gondez The Monk, another knock off of Lewis' book. And for those who are interested in a despotic female, there is The Abbess: A Romance. Valancourt has released another notorious "tale of monkish cruelty" Manfroné; or, The One-Handed Monk which is written under the interesting pseudonym "Mary-Anne Radcliffe." For another tale about Monkish intrigue, see the wonderful new edition of The Midnight Bell: A German Story, Founded on Incidents in Real Life (Gothic Classics) which features a marvelous introduction by David Punter, whose observations are similar to those made in Jeffrey Cass' introduction for Valancourt's release of The Necromancer; or, The Tale of the Black Forest, both of which were among the list of "horrid" "Northanger Novels."

The only flaw in this edition of THE DEMON OF SICILY was the choice by the publisher to include a self promoting forward by historical novelist, Jo Beverly, which I suppose her fans will like... but I didn't.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book!, March 13, 2009

By 

Adam C. Scott - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Demon of Sicily: A Romance (200th Anniversary Edition) (Gothic Classics) (Paperback)

This book is dark, sinister, and delightful! A fabulous romance story enfolds through the evil workings of the Devil and his minions. A must-read for fans of gothic horror or the macabre.