The Devil's Mischief : In Which His Own Story Is Told in Words and Pictures

by Ed Marquand (editor)

I present here a diabolically fascinating compilation of Devil lore and literature, which I have illustrated with images both spooky and seductive - and amusingly human.
I have inspired many of the greatest artists, including William Blake, Gustave Dore, Duccio, Giotto and Michelangelo. My sway over folk and popular artists continues to this day. I am also captured here with startling vitality in inventive vignettes by authors including Charles Baudelaire, Ambrose Bierce, Mikhail Bulgakov, Anatole France, John Milton, Vladimir Nabokov, Edgar Allan Poe, Robert Louis Stevenson, William Thackeray and Mark Twain. See for yourself the fruits of my inspiration.

Genres: Fiction

183 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1996

Reviews

[Kai Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing multimedia examination of the devil figure, stunning illustrations, fun and thought provoking voice when the devil is speaking directly to the reader, first half can feel kind of wide/ shallow covering a ton of topics with not much depth but the aesthetic sensibiility and the quotes / images paired together were always striking. Where this rly shines though is in the lil mini anthology of short stories in the middle: there are some CERTIFIED BANGERS here! Not a single miss but in particular Markheim by Robert Louis Stevenson, The Generous Gambler by Baudelaire and a Nursery Tale by Nabokov are all fiiiiire and I'll def be revisiting all three.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is mostly an art book and it’s got the Devil cheekily narrating. You gotta admit the devil is probably the greatest character of all time. He explains his side of the story through art and literature. It’s a very broad overview but he gets most of the points across. He starts with Zoroastrianism and the opposition of light and dark. He then gets into Greek/Roman/Pagan precursors like Pan and Dionysis. I sometimes take for granted that the Devil has associations with Goats and Satyrs, it’s so entrenched in my mind that I can’t remember if that imagery was ever brought up in Sunday School. To be honest I don’t remember the devil being that big of a focus in my religious upbringing, which is probably for the best. Though I did have a real fear of the number 666 and as late as college was privately anxious about being smited for having 666 in my Intagram name. I had to have gotten that fear from somewhere. Then he discusses the events of the Fall. He Explains how Virgil inspired Dante who inspired Milton and how all those different depictions of hell came together to inform the imagery we have today. This section is not very text heavy and is mostly about the art, which is all excellent. Our boy Blake ofc.

The latter half of the book is a short story collection and I read them very spread out because they are all extremely similar. The devil shows up as a mysterious figure & offers to make a dream come true. The authors are all heavy hitters. Poe, Baudelaire, Nabokov, Mark Twain, Robert Louis Stevenson. Kai had told me Markheim (RLS) and A Nursery Tale (Nabokov) in detail before I read them myself. Both are excellent stories. I think that Markheim defeated the devil and was at heart a good person. And I think the devil wanted him to choose goodness! A Nursery Tale was an Incel taking a major L. My other favorite story was The Mysterious Stranger by Mark Twain where the devil makes a tiny little living village of inch high people and crushes them like ants. He doesn’t do this sadistically, it’s just unthinking. He can always make some more. The boys are initially horrified because they’re living humans, just tiny, but eventually they stop caring. It’s like how you feel about world events on the other side of the world where you might be horrified for one second but then can’t care any more because they are effectively like the teeny tiny people in the story. It’s not cruel, it’s just passive. Of course the indifference *is* the cruelty. I thought of the Elves and Giants in the show Hilda.

Regardless of feelings on religion or christianity, it’s kinda essential to know these things because of how often they come up in literature.

[Cameron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mostly artwork and the mythology of Ol' Scratchy over the centuries.

[Edward]

Fantastic artwork, stories have interesting point of view especially if you know the correlating catholic bible stories.