Melmoth the Wanderer

Nov 10, 2025 8:33 PM

Author:Charles Maturin,Victor Sage,Victor Sage,Victor Sage

Created by an Irish clergyman, Melmoth is one of the most fiendish characters in literature. In a satanic bargain, Melmoth exchanges his soul for immortality. The story of his tortured wanderings through the centuries is pieced together through those who have been implored by Melmoth to take over his pact with the devil. Influenced by the Gothic romances of the late 18th century, Maturin's diabolic tale raised the genre to a new and macabre pitch. Its many admirers include Poe, Balzac, Oscar Wilde and Baudelaire.

Reviews

Manda Scott has created a fictional universe all her own, but close enough to our reality for it both to warm and break our hearts. Breathtakingly good, it reveals the best and worst in all of us

—— Val McDermid

The best in the current crop of novels about Rome, its empire and its victims ... never sentimental and always tough-minded

—— Roz Kaveney , Independent

Every so often, a book comes along that totally remoulds a historical figure for our own times ... massively impressive

—— Jane Jakeman , Scotland on Sunday

A powerful novel, alive with the love, deceit, wisdom and the heroics of humanity

—— Jean M. Auel

An extraordinary work ... exciting and intriguing, taking you into a world where unbelievable danger and cruelty sit side by side with magic, spirituality and profound human relationships

—— Jenni Murray

Utterly convincing and compelling ... A stunning feat of the imagination and an absolute must-read

—— Steven Pressfield

Denys Johnson-Davies...the leading Arabic-English translator of our time

—— Edward Said

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