 Title page of Volume 1, First edition | |
| Author | Charles Maturin |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Gothic novel, Romanticism |
| Published | 1820 (in four volumes) |
| Publication place | Ireland |
| Media type | Print (novel) |
Melmoth the Wanderer is an 1820 Gothic novel by Irish playwright, novelist and clergyman Charles Maturin. The novel's titular character is a scholar who sold his soul to the devil in exchange for 150 extra years of life, and searches the world for someone who will take over the pact for him, in a manner reminiscent of the Wandering Jew.[1]
The novel is composed of a series of nested stories within stories, gradually revealing the story of Melmoth's life. The novel offers social commentary on early 19th-century England, and denounces Roman Catholicism in favour of the virtues of Protestantism.
- ^ Tichelaar, Tyler R. (2012). The Gothic Novel: From Transgression to Redemption. Ann Arbor, Michigan: Modern History Press. ISBN 978-1-61599-138-9.