Master of the gothic tale, Matthew Gregory Lewis was born in 1775. At the age of 19 he published his novel The Monk
which held such luridly gothic imagery, that it became a real classic
of the genre. Not long after he became a member of the House of Commons
for the Whig Party, his sensational writing not affecting his public
standing. Taking the influence of writers such as Ann Radcliffe to
heart, he continued to write in the horror-gothic genre, but will always
be remembered for testing the limits of the gothic novel in The Monk, a tale which was to inspire those who wrote after him.
