“The Sorrows of Satan” ( English The Sorrows of Satan ) - a mystical decadent novel by the English writer Maria Corelli , published in 1895 and became the largest bestseller in the history of Victorian England [1] .
| The Tribulation of Satan | |
|---|---|
| English The sorrows of satan | |
 First Edition Cover | |
| Genre | novel |
| Author | Maria Corelli |
| Original language | English |
| Date of first publication | 1895 |
In the book, the traditional motive of the deal with the devil is played out. Corelli introduced a new word to the literature on Faust , showing that Satan, more than anyone, recognizes the truth of the Gospel and is at the same time commanded to transmit this good news to people.
Content
- 1 plot
- 2 Success and criticism
- 3 Edition in Russian
- 4 Screen versions
- 5 notes
- 6 References
Story
The book tells about the talented but penniless writer Jeffrey Tempest. At the most hopeless moment of life, a mysterious, beautiful and infinitely rich prince-philanthropist Lucio Rimanets is in his gloomy rented room, who secretly “rewards” him with an infinite amount of money, allegedly inherited from an unknown millionaire relative.
Lucio draws close to Tempest, becomes his best friend, enters into high society and helps to achieve the hand of the most beautiful and noble girl in England. However, the only thing Tempest fails to achieve is true literary recognition. Enormous influence, advertising of his best work, dazzling in all newspapers, and even “paid up” criticism - all this turns out to be powerless.
In parallel, Jeffrey loses his humanity and becomes an ordinary rich snob, caring only about his vanity and prosperity. However, after some time, due to vague forebodings, painful circumstances and strange changes, Tempest begins a remorse. But it’s too late to change anything, and his life literally turns into hell. Despite warnings from all sides, the protagonist stubbornly does not want to understand that Prince Lucio is the earthly embodiment of Lucifer ...
Success and Criticism
The novel, written under the influence of the ideas of Elena Blavatsky , was initially explosive. No English novel has yet been swept off the shelves of bookstores with such speed [2] : in the first week, sales exceeded 25,000 copies, in the first two months - 50,000.
The crushing reviews of leading critics gradually sobered readers. “It is difficult to imagine a more tasteless novel, in which the sentimental story of two young (and pure) souls is combined with a story about the intrigues of a demonic aristocrat,” writes L. Z. Trauberg [3] about this book.
Although almost all critics noted the literary imperfection of the book, Oscar Wilde spoke out in defense of the work, which is not surprising: the path of Jeffrey Tempest in the first part of the book largely repeats the moral decline of his Dorian Gray [4] .
Russian Edition
- The sorrow of Satan, or the extraordinary test of one millionaire Joffrey Tempest. Roman Marіi Corelli. From the English translation by E.V. Kokhno . (With separate pagination). // New journal of literature, art and science, 1904.
- “The Tribulation of Satan (Hell for Jeffrey Tempest).” Tallinn publishing house "GART", 1991. Translation - E.Kokhno; processing - A.Khokhreva; Editor - G. Sorkina. Circulation 520,000 copies, ISBN 5-7985-0016-0 .
- The Tribulation of Satan: Hell for Jeffrey Tempest. Roman Maria Corelli. Translated from English by E.V. Kokhno; processing - A.Khokhreva; Editor - A. Popova; proofreaders - M. Lipatova, A. Yablokova. St. Petersburg: Kegel, 2017 .-- 704 p. Circulation 650 copies. ISBN 978-5-9908944-0-2
A Russian-language publication came out under the name of Bram Stoker , while his novel Dracula came out under the name Corelli. Perhaps this was done intentionally, but most likely, this is simply a gross mistake of the publishers.
Films
- 1919 - Pages from the book of Satan / Leaves from Satan's Book - director Karl Theodore Dreyer
- 1926 - The Sorrows of Satan / Director David Griffith
Notes
- ↑ Michael Wheeler. English Fiction of the Victorian Period . London: Longman, 1994. P. 180.
- ↑ Brian Masters. Now Barabbas Was a Rotter: The Extraordinary Life of Marie Corelli . London: Hamish Hamilton, 1978. P. 143.
- ↑ L.Z. Trauberg. Selected works. Volume 2. Art, 1988.P. 220.
- ↑ Normalizing the Degenerate: Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray and Marie Corelli's The Sorrows of Satan - Springer