Dear Reader,

One night, not too long ago, I was in an old book store doing research for a project on the supernatural when I accidentally knocked over a small stack of books. Embarrassed, I bent down to pick them up when my eyes fell upon one the spines: The Monk. I was instantly intrigued—maybe because of the simplicity of its title, maybe because I had never heard of it before. I quickly returned the other books to their proper places and, having disturbed the quiet of the night, sheepishly went off into a corner to read a few pages.

I must have lost track of time because the store began to close. Realizing that I didn’t have enough money to buy the book, I had to leave The Monk behind, but I couldn’t stop thinking about it that night. The next day I bought a copy and locked myself in a room to read it. After a few chapters, I devoured it.

Written in 1796 and set in Madrid during the Inquisition, The Monk has been called “one of the most extravagantly dark works of Gothic fiction ever written in English” and tells the tale of Ambrosio, a monk of seemingly impeccable nature. What many don’t know is that this man is privately tormented with a lustful obsession that will eventually lead to murder in a dark crypt in Saint Clare. What follows is a phantasmagorical adventure, filled with what some have called a bubbling cauldron of horror characters including ghosts, a gypsy fortune teller, the Wandering Jew, the Bleeding Nun, and Old Scratch himself.  Oh, we also witness premature burial, torture and demonic temptation.

I am very excited that QPB is now offering this rediscovered classic—a very special paperback edition that contains an insightful introduction by the Master of the Macabre, Stephen King.  

Happy Reading,

Gary Jansen, Executive Editor QPB