Melmoth der Wanderer

Melmoth the Wanderer is a horror novel published in 1820 by the Irish writer Charles Robert Maturin. The novel is a synthesis of the styles of terror and Gothic horror. It is considered the best English-language horror novel of the Dark Romanticism. The novel consists of six partially interwoven narratives, all centered around Melmoth, who is condemned to wander the world for 150 years to expand his knowledge at his own request. In a classic Faustian manner, Melmoth has made a pact with the devil to satisfy his insatiable thirst for knowledge. After 150 years, the devil demands Melmoth's soul as payment unless he can provide a substitute soul. Unfortunately, during his one hundred and fifty-year odyssey, Melmoth finds no one so desperate who would be willing to pledge their soul to him and thus to the devil. When the time limit expires, the desperate Melmoth has no choice but to resign himself to his fate. The story of Melmoth and Immalee contained in the novel, from which Goethe translated a few passages, clearly illustrates...