Melmoth the Wanderer
Melmoth the Wanderer,a novel by C. R. Maturin , published 1820 .
This novel, which was praised by writers as diverse as Thackeray , D. G. Rossetti , and Baudelaire , was in effect the last, and also one of the most effective, of the ‘Gothic’ school . The tale rushes energetically through every kind of horror and iniquity, and has moments of genuine power. Melmoth, who has sold his soul for the promise of prolonged life, offers relief from suffering to each of the characters, whose terrible stories succeed one another, if they will take over his bargain with the Devil. But Stanton, imprisoned in the cell of a raving lunatic; Moncada in the hands of the Inquisition; Walberg, who sees his children dying of hunger; and many other sufferers, all reject the proposed bargain.
After his trial Wilde adopted the name Sebastian Melmoth.
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