The Monk

It is only rarely reprinted and, indeed, it is accorded no great stature among the classics of English literature. But The Monk caused a sensation when it was first published in 1796, and its 20-year-old author, British novelist MATTHEW GREGORY LEWIS (1775-1818), earned the nickname "Monk" Lewis thanks to the outrageous success of this then-scandalous and shocking Gothic novel. Most readers today will find that the genres of horror and dark romance have since past The Monk by, but this tale of the terrors of the Spanish Inquisition--from lust and incest to scheming and murder--remains a fascinating read for fans and historians of pulp fiction. Hugely influential on writers as diverse as Victor Hugo and Jane Austen, this is an important keystone of modern popular fiction that lay readers and scholars alike will find intriguing.