Delphi Complete Works of Matthew Lewis

by Matthew Gregory Lewis, Delphi Classics (Editor)

Master of Gothic horror, Matthew Lewis was an English novelist and dramatist, whose 1796 novel ‘The Monk’ made him famous overnight, achieving sensational success. Written when Lewis was nineteen, its was influenced by the leading Gothic writer Ann Radcliffe and by contemporary German literature. Its emphasis on horror rather than romance, amorality over religion, with a penchant for violence and eroticism, it was avidly read, though universally condemned. As well as numerous poems, plays and stories, Lewis’ other enduring work is ‘Journal of a West India Proprietor’, offering an important historical resource for the study of the slave trade. For the first time in publishing history, this eBook presents Lewis’ complete fictional works, with numerous illustrations, rare texts, informative introductions and the usual Delphi bonus material. (Version 1)* Beautifully illustrated with images relating to Lewis’ life and works* Concise introductions to the novels and other texts* All the novels and short stories, with individual contents tables* Features Lewis’ first and unfinished novel, ‘The Effusions of Sensibility’, appearing here for the first time in digital publishing* Images of how the books were first published, giving your eReader a taste of the original texts* Excellent formatting of the texts* The complete four volume text of ‘Romantic Tales’, available in no other collection* Rare uncollected poetry and tales, posthumously published and never digitised before* Special chronological and alphabetical contents tables for the poetry* Easily locate the poems or short stories you want to read* Lewis’ complete poetry collections – available in no other collection* Features a bonus biography* Ordering of texts into chronological order and genresPlease at the time of publication, no suitable texts of Lewis’ translation of ‘Feudal Tyrants’ are available. As soon as a copy is obtainable, the text will be added to the NovelsThe Effusions of Sensibility (1839)Ambrosio; or, The Monk (1796)The Bravo of Venice by Heinrich Zschokke (1805)The Shorter FictionRomantic Tales (1808)A Nancy Story (1839)The PlaysThe Castle Spectre (1798)The East Indian (1800)Alfonso, King of Castile (1801)The Poetry CollectionsTales of Terror (1799)Tales of Wonder (1801)Poems (1812)Uncollected PoemsThe PoemsList of Poems in Chronological OrderList of Poems in Alphabetical OrderThe Non-FictionJournal of a West India Proprietor (1833)The BiographyMatthew Gregory Lewis by Leslie Stephen

2036 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 28, 2021

About the author

Matthew 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.