Matthew Gregory Lewis

The Monk Matthew Gregory Lewis

Matthew Gregory Lewis (1775 - 1818) was an English novelist and dramatist, often referred to as "Monk" Lewis, because of the success of his classic Gothic novel, The Monk. As a writer, Lewis is typically classified as writing in the horror-gothic genre along with authors Charles Robert Maturin and Mary Shelley. Though he was most assuredly influenced by Ann Radcliffe's The Mysteries of Udolpho and William Godwin's Caleb Williams, taking Radcliffe's obsession with the supernatural and Godwin's narrative drive and interest in crime and punishment, Lewis differed with his literary approach.