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Liv Zander
4.7
The Monk (Oxford World's Classics)
by Matthew Lewis
Published Mar 1, 2016
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About this book
In the heart of 18th-century Madrid, Ambrosio stands as the most revered monk in the Capuchin monastery. Famed for his ironclad piety and commanding sermons, he is the city’s moral compass. However, his sanctity is a fragile fortress.
When a mysterious novice enters his life, Ambrosio’s long-repressed desires are ignited, triggering a devastating lapse in judgment that threatens to undo years of holy devotion. As his obsession spirals, Ambrosio enters a dangerous pact with dark forces, trading his spiritual integrity for carnal satisfaction. The novel charts a harrowing descent as the Abbot abandons his vows, plunging headlong into a world of black magic, forbidden seduction, and escalating violence.
Each step away from the altar draws him deeper into a web of supernatural terror, forcing him to confront the grim consequences of his unchecked ambition and lust. Caught between the divine light he once served and the encroaching shadows of his own making, Ambrosio must navigate a labyrinth of moral ruin. This classic gothic tale serves as a chilling exploration of human depravity, where the line between saint and sinner dissolves under the weight of temptation and the price of a soul is far higher than any man can pay.
Available Formats
Kindle: $16.99 Paperback: $9.26
What readers are saying
Jaedynthis guy really hates women lol
"nice enoug book, good quality copy, the texture of the cover picks up oils from skin really easily and i dont care for that, and its printed in a really small font. Mr. Lewis seems like he didn't really like women very much but also he lived in the 1700s so I wouldn't expect anything less ["
June 30, 2024 Verified Purchase
BookLoverHorrifying tale
"This was a nice change from my usual fare. A gothic horror tale of treachery and deceit filled with outrageous crimes. It seems everyone got their due, aside from the innocent victims. Well-written. Enjoyable. ["
September 23, 2016 Verified Purchase
Michael G KurillaBreaking bad in an 18th century Spanish monastery
"Matthew Gregory Lewis' The Monk is an 18th century gothic tale that must have been scandalous in its day. The main character is a monk who was raised from an infant by a monastery. He appears beyond reproach and is regarded as the holiest of holies. A young woman, captivated by the monk as well as dabbling in black magic, cross-dresses and pretend to be a novitiate in the monastery to be near the monk. She is eventually discovered which leads to an affair. At the same time, in an adjacent convent, a young woman who is there only because her mother promised becomes pregnant. The prioress attempts to hide all of this, allowing the newborn infant to die while starving the young mother. Meanwhile, the monk develops an obsession towards another woman and uses a compact with the devil to rape her. He also murders her mother to ensure secrecy. At this point, things really go south with the town erupting into mob violence tearing all the nuns limb from limb. When everything comes fully to light, while no one was expecting the Spanish Inquisition, they arrive in full force and only another deal with the devil secure transient relief, but here even the devil has his due. Given the extent of murder, rape, incest, infanticide, poisoning, mob violence, assault, robbery, etc., even a current streaming miniseries would receive a jaundiced censors' eyes, but for the 18th century this must have caused quite a row. ["
October 29, 2023 Verified Purchase
Erzsebet CarmeanLabyrinthine, Heavily Plotted - And a Product of Its Time
"THE MONK is a labyrinthine, heavily plotted book. It is also the progenitor of all Gothic novels, and includes such mainstays as drafty castles, ghosts, black magic and doomed loves. Despite being painfully misogynistic, there are bits of dialog that are surprisingly funny - along with themes that remain shocking even now, over two centuries after it was written. Matthew Gregory Lewis was nineteen when he penned THE MONK, which goes a long way to explaining the rebellious streak and the fixation on sex. THE MONK is not the sleekly polished work we've come to expect ever since The Lost Generation began the convention of incremental revision. The plot feels wooden and obvious to the modern reader. The relationships, too, feel dated and, frankly, infantilizing of women. That said, this is a work that reads like a soap opera, and like a soap opera, I felt compelled to keep going to find out what sort of crazy story-within-a-story would happen next. I do want to give a trigger alert, as rape is a pernicious and omnipresent theme in THE MONK. As is true to the ethos of the 1790s when THE MONK was written, a raped woman is held accountable for the crime against her, and is considered too "impure" to marry or serve God. While I enjoyed the ghost stories (and found one in particular wonderfully creepy!), the last quarter of the book was difficult to read because of the outdated views on women. I remain unsure of how I feel about the ending. At the time of reading, I was thrilled to see the rapist meet such a terrible end. It forces me to really look at where I stand as a moral agent on the topic of capital punishment. In short: Mr. Lewis did the most important thing a writer can do, and got me to think. Ugly themes, livened by clever dialog but VERY MUCH a product of its time (misogyny alert!) ["
February 28, 2015 Verified Purchase
