The Monk and the Hangman’s Daughter (1967)

S$71.00

The Monk and the Hangman’s Daughter (1967)

S$71.00

Title: The Monk and the Hangman’s Daughter
Author: Ambrose Bierce, Gustav Adolph Danziger, Maurice Valency (intro), Michel Ciry (illus)
Publisher: The Heritage Press, 1967
Condition: Hardcover, with slipcase. Minor wear to slipcase, book otherwise in excellent condition. Well-bound with clean pages and bright illustrations.

SKU: bierce-monk Categories: ,

About the Book (from Goodreads):

On arriving at a rural monastery, the monk Ambrosius meets a young girl, Benedicta. She is shunned by the local community for being the daughter of the local hangman, but Ambrosius is drawn into a dangerous sympathy with her, and in defiance of the community and his superiors, he starts spending time alone with her. But when her virtue is corrupted by an impetuous young man, the stage is set for a battle between heart, mind, body, spirit, the sins of the past, and redemption. Allegedly a rewriting from a lost German original, Ambrose Bierce’s 1892 novel reads as a seamless, almost folktale-like masterpiece.

About Ambrose Bierce (from Wiki):

Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce (born June 24, 1842) assumed to have died sometime after December 26, 1913) was an American editorialist, journalist, short story writer, fabulist, and satirist. He wrote the short story “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” and compiled a satirical lexicon The Devil’s Dictionary. His vehemence as a critic, his motto “Nothing matters”, and the sardonic view of human nature that informed his work, all earned him the nickname “Bitter Bierce”.

Despite his reputation as a searing critic, Bierce was known to encourage younger writers, including poet George Sterling and fiction writer W. C. Morrow. Bierce employed a distinctive style of writing, especially in his stories. His style often embraces an abrupt beginning, dark imagery, vague references to time, limited descriptions, impossible events and the theme of war.

In 1913, Bierce traveled to Mexico to gain first-hand experience of the Mexican Revolution. While traveling with rebel troops, he disappeared without a trace.