The Monk (Oxford World's Classics) [Paperback]

Matthew Lewis (Author), Emma McEvoy (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 15, 2008 | ISBN-10: 019953568X | ISBN-13: 978-0199535682 | Edition: Reissue

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. The only edition of this key gothic novel available, The Monk now offers a new introduction and notes that make it especially accessible to the modern reader.

About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum 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, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

Product Details

• Paperback: 496 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; Reissue edition (May 15, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 019953568X
• ISBN-13: 978-0199535682
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.9 x 7.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #57,999 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Editorial Reviews

Review

`This is the highly popular and equally highly vilified Gothic novel, written in 1794. Gruesome, voluptuous, and occasionally tongue-in-cheek, The Monk is a masterpiece of its genre.' Sunday Telegraph

`what distinguishes The Monk from a whole raft of lesser imitations is the quality of the storytelling ... There's always a danger of bathos in narratives where horror is piled on horror ... Lewis avoids that pitfall by judicious use of humour. He also writes with great visual immediacy. Lewis has a remarkable understanding of human psychology. The Monk is a stunning read. It was published 200 years ago. I hope this article is not the only celebration of that bicentenary.' Simon Brett, The Sunday Times

About the Author

Emma McEvoy is a Lecturer at Goldsmith's College.

Product Details

• Paperback: 496 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; Reissue edition (May 15, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 019953568X
• ISBN-13: 978-0199535682
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.9 x 7.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #57,999 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Gothic Masterpiece September 17, 2010

By Charlus

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Why this book is not as popularly read as Mrs. Radcliffe's doorstops will remain a mystery to me deeper than any to be found in this delightfully wicked and addictively readable masterpiece. That the author was only 19 when it was published puts him in the precocious genius department. What most new readers to this novel won't realize until they start is how much fun it is to read. Yes, the wicked are really bad (they really do consort with Satan) and the good generally come to a bad end but the sheer narrative rush of the book, the nuggets of wit that show the author winking out now and then, and all the demonic clergy, gloomy sepulchers and restless ghosts that you could ever wish for take this novel into that enviable category of one-of-a-kind reading experiences. Lewis has the courage of his conventions and won't cop out at the end like Mrs. Radcliffe will which makes this more a successor to "The Castle of Otranto" than any of her productions. And the lustful goings on would bring a blush of modesty to any of her virginal heroines (you can see why this novel was expurgated for it's fourth edition). Yet the dangers and horrors come on so fast and thick that you won't be bored and will soon understand why this was a major hit when first published and gave the author the nickname "Monk" Lewis for the rest of his writing days (which in keeping with his Romantic peers, was way too short). If you can look past the archaic locutions and enjoy the Sturm und Drang rules of the game, this is a novel you won't want to miss.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Plain awesome September 24, 2011

By Pius

Format:Paperback

Written by Matthew Lewis during a short period of ten short weeks when he was just nineteen, "The Monk" proved to be a controversial novel at the time that it was written. Faith, deception, loyalty, sorcery, murder, Satanism, incest, rape, ghosts, and the inquisition gave the novel the popularity it has retained until today. Even though its plot made the novel controversial when it was published in 1796 to the point where it as held to be blasphemous and resulted to censorship, Lewis nevertheless gained in popularity.

The story is basically about Ambrosio, who as an enfant was found at the doors of the abbey, stirring talks that he was a divine-sent child. He grew up to become an ostensibly pious and deeply revered Abbot of the Capuchin monastery in Madrid, a fit in holiness that aroused the resentment of the devil who decides to plot his fall. The devil plotted the fall through the working of a young female who disguised and became a novice under the tutelage of Ambrioso, the immaculate monk. Ambrioso's fall is plotted through out the later stages of the novel as his fight with the deep passions of his body, the machinations of the devil and his attempts at redemption. Anti-Catholic in nature, this Gothic classic is perhaps the best in its genre. I am certain the author enjoyed every moment while he was writing it because the story flowed all the way through to the end. A recommended classic.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Gothic Fun! August 10, 2011

By Jeanette Thomas VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

Don't be scared off by the book's 18th century publication date: this story is great fun - as shocking and titillating as anything in modern lit. The Monk has it all: scandal, conspiracy, murder, villainy, hypocrisy, incest, rape, betrayal, ghosts, demons, corpses, and enough gruesome detail to rival an episode of CSI.

The story is set in Spain during the time of the Inquisition, and focuses on the corruption and eventual destruction of Ambrosio, "The Man of Holiness", a Capuchin monk whose outward piety conceals vanity and a lust for power, from which seeds grow spiraling tendrils of evil that eventually destroy him, with a little help from Old Smokey himself. (Lucifer actually makes a juicy cameo appearance at the end - don't miss it!).

Love how "meaty" the story is: within the main narrative, Lewis embeds digressions and side stories that add to the entertainment and general spookiness of the story. Caught up in the main narrative (in which the Brave Cavalier Lorenzo attempts to woo the Innocent Virgin Antonia; Noble Raymond attempts to rescue his True Love Agnes from the schemes of Villainous Family Members and an Evil Prioress; and the Mad Monk Ambrosio is gradually corrupted), you may be tempted to skip these parts, but don't! Elvira's sad history, the story of Lorenzo's brush with bloodthirsty bandits in the forests of Germany, and especially the tale of the Bleeding Nun and the Wandering Jew are fully as diverting as the main narrative.

Love, too, how the author incorporates all the stereotypical elements of gothic fiction - mad monks, wicked nuns, brave knights, naďve virgins, scheming family members, crypts, corpses, and sorcery - while still managing to create a story that feels fresh, literate, and well-crafted.... Lewis may have picked a dubious genre, but there's nothing dubious about his plotting or prose. Indeed, Ambrosio's decline is presented in so gradual and logical a fashion, will shock you almost as much as it shocks him at the end to realize how far he's fallen, and how fast.

Finally, love how the book lays the foundation for so much literature that's come since. Reading along, you'll catch definite whiffs of Bronte, Poe, Hawthorn, Byron, Eco, and Perez-Reverte, among others. Were I a scholar, would love to research how this text provides a bridge between the old-style horror of medieval morality plays and modern lit.

Because, beneath the shock and titillation, this is at its core a morality play, in which evildoers are punished and virtue is rewarded. (Except for a few necessarily tragic consequences, because evil can't happen without victims, after all). A little spooky, a little melodramatic, a lot entertaining, and good triumphs over evil yet again ... what more do you want from a book? Read more ›

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Review - The Monk July 13, 2011

By Steve

Format:Paperback

This has to be one of the best, most twisted, and most absolutely fascinating gothic novels that I have ever read. The book follows several different characters but is primarily about the tale of an exceptionally pius monk and his hidious fall from grace. The second branch of the story follows a young girl who is in a nunnary and the tale of her life, as well as her back story. At the end both of the stories join in one final nasty twist that just leaves you absolutely breathless, shocked and utterly floored.

From beginning to end this book is a phenominal read. It is very fast paced, exciting and the twists and turns will suprise the hell out of you! I definately recommned this book as it has to be one of the best books that I have read this year. This book is rife with political commentary, religious commentary and of course filled with some good old fashioned Spanish Inqusitioning. Definately pick up this book you will love it and you certainly not regret it!

And to those of you who say "ahhh its written in 1796 how exciting could it be?" You are DEAD WRONG! Read it! it is phenominal! Better than most of the junk out there today in the horror genre.