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The Isle of Devils: A Historical Tale, Founded on an Anecdote in the Annals of Portugal
Excerpt from The Isle of Devils: A Historical Tale, Founded on an Anecdote in the Annals of Portugal
His poem was written by Monk Lewis, in 1816, on his last voyage to Jamaica. A few copies were printed from the original manuscript at the Advertiser office, Kingston, Jamaica, in 1827, for the sole use of certain friends and admirers. It is from one of these, recently acquired, that the following careful reprint has been made. The work is a great literary curiosity, as well as a striking example of Lewis's wonderful power of imagination in blending the horrible and the beautiful; mingling the most gorgeous and volup tuons descriptions, with scenes and characters loathsome and diabolic. Students and collectors of rare and out of-the - way items in the bye - paths of literature will welcome this opportunity of becoming acquainted with one of the most powerful and yet (until now) practically unknown works of the Great Master whose place in Literature is with Poe, Baudelaire, and Mrs. Shelley.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
His poem was written by Monk Lewis, in 1816, on his last voyage to Jamaica. A few copies were printed from the original manuscript at the Advertiser office, Kingston, Jamaica, in 1827, for the sole use of certain friends and admirers. It is from one of these, recently acquired, that the following careful reprint has been made. The work is a great literary curiosity, as well as a striking example of Lewis's wonderful power of imagination in blending the horrible and the beautiful; mingling the most gorgeous and volup tuons descriptions, with scenes and characters loathsome and diabolic. Students and collectors of rare and out of-the - way items in the bye - paths of literature will welcome this opportunity of becoming acquainted with one of the most powerful and yet (until now) practically unknown works of the Great Master whose place in Literature is with Poe, Baudelaire, and Mrs. Shelley.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
83 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1977
About the author
Matthew Gregory Lewis
252 books326 followersMatthew Gregory Lewis was an English novelist and dramatist, often referred to as "Monk" Lewis, because of the success of his classic Gothic novel, The Monk.
Matthew Gregory Lewis was the firstborn child of Matthew and Frances Maria Sewell Lewis. Both his parents' families had connections with Jamaica. Lewis' father owned considerable property in Jamaica, within four miles of Savanna-la-Mer, or Savanna-la-Mar, which was hit by a devastating earthquake and hurricane in 1779. Lewis would later inherit this property.
In addition to Matthew Gregory Lewis, Matthew and Frances had three other children: Maria, Barrington, and Sophia Elizabeth. On 23 July 1781, when Matthew was six and his youngest sister was one and a half years old, Frances left her husband, taking the music master, Samuel Harrison, as her lover. During their estrangement, Frances lived under a different name, Langley, in order to hide her location from her husband. He still, however, knew her whereabouts. On 3 July 1782, Frances gave birth to a child. That same day, hearing of the birth, her estranged husband returned. Afterwards, he began to arrange a legal separation from his wife. After formally accusing his wife of adultery through the Consistory Court of the Bishop of London on 27 February 1783, he petitioned the House of Lords for permission to bring about a bill of divorce. However, as these bills were rarely granted, it was rejected when brought to voting. Consequently, Matthew and Frances remained married until his death in 1812. Frances, though withdrawing from society and temporarily moving to France, was always supported financially by her husband and then later, her son. She later returned to London and then finally finished her days at Leatherhead, rejoining society and even becoming a lady-in-waiting to the Princess of Wales. Frances and her son remained quite close, with her taking on the responsibility of helping him with his literary career. She even became a published author, much to her son’s dislike.
Matthew Gregory Lewis began his education at a preparatory school under Reverend Dr. John Fountain, Dean of York at Marylebone Seminary, a friend of both the Lewis and Sewell families. Here, Lewis learned Latin, Greek, French, writing, arithmetic, drawing, dancing, and fencing. Throughout the school day, he and his classmates were only permitted to converse in French. Like many of his classmates, Lewis used the Marylebone Seminary as a stepping stone, proceeding from there to the Westminster School, like his father, at age eight. Here, he acted in the Town Boys’ Play as Falconbridge in King John and then My Lord Duke in High Life Below Stairs. Later, again like his father, he began studying at Christ Church, Oxford on 27 April 1790 at the age of fifteen. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 1794. He later earned a master's degree from the same school in 1797.
Matthew Gregory Lewis was the firstborn child of Matthew and Frances Maria Sewell Lewis. Both his parents' families had connections with Jamaica. Lewis' father owned considerable property in Jamaica, within four miles of Savanna-la-Mer, or Savanna-la-Mar, which was hit by a devastating earthquake and hurricane in 1779. Lewis would later inherit this property.
In addition to Matthew Gregory Lewis, Matthew and Frances had three other children: Maria, Barrington, and Sophia Elizabeth. On 23 July 1781, when Matthew was six and his youngest sister was one and a half years old, Frances left her husband, taking the music master, Samuel Harrison, as her lover. During their estrangement, Frances lived under a different name, Langley, in order to hide her location from her husband. He still, however, knew her whereabouts. On 3 July 1782, Frances gave birth to a child. That same day, hearing of the birth, her estranged husband returned. Afterwards, he began to arrange a legal separation from his wife. After formally accusing his wife of adultery through the Consistory Court of the Bishop of London on 27 February 1783, he petitioned the House of Lords for permission to bring about a bill of divorce. However, as these bills were rarely granted, it was rejected when brought to voting. Consequently, Matthew and Frances remained married until his death in 1812. Frances, though withdrawing from society and temporarily moving to France, was always supported financially by her husband and then later, her son. She later returned to London and then finally finished her days at Leatherhead, rejoining society and even becoming a lady-in-waiting to the Princess of Wales. Frances and her son remained quite close, with her taking on the responsibility of helping him with his literary career. She even became a published author, much to her son’s dislike.
Matthew Gregory Lewis began his education at a preparatory school under Reverend Dr. John Fountain, Dean of York at Marylebone Seminary, a friend of both the Lewis and Sewell families. Here, Lewis learned Latin, Greek, French, writing, arithmetic, drawing, dancing, and fencing. Throughout the school day, he and his classmates were only permitted to converse in French. Like many of his classmates, Lewis used the Marylebone Seminary as a stepping stone, proceeding from there to the Westminster School, like his father, at age eight. Here, he acted in the Town Boys’ Play as Falconbridge in King John and then My Lord Duke in High Life Below Stairs. Later, again like his father, he began studying at Christ Church, Oxford on 27 April 1790 at the age of fifteen. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 1794. He later earned a master's degree from the same school in 1797.
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