I want the pot of pig's blood dumped, Brother Fabrizio's bones back in the crypt, and my letter opener back on my desk. Now, young lady. Occasionally we document the pulpification of classic literature, and today we have another example. Above you see The Monk by Matthew Gregory Lewis, which was originally published in 1796 but was updated pulp style by Bestseller Library for this 1960 version. The difference with this re-issue—as opposed to sexed up novels like George Orwell's 1984 and Matteo Bandello's Dammi la tua ecco la mia—is that The Monk really is like a pulp novel. You get lust, violence, cross-dressing, incest, magic, and an appearance by Satan himself, and not just any average Satan, but one with serpents for hair, razor sharp talons, and a burning pen in one hand—useful for writing up contracts for gullible mortals' souls. And that's pretty much what the plot deals with—a pious monk who is targeted and tempted by Satan. You think the Dark One takes no for an answer? Forget it. He's got slippery ways and plenty of alluring minions. The cover art here is by someone who signed as Blofeld. Never heard of him before, and we doubt we will again.
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The headlines that mattered yesteryear.
1939—Batman Debuts
In Detective Comics #27, DC Comics publishes its second major superhero, Batman, who becomes one of the most popular comic book characters of all time, and then a popular camp television series starring Adam West, and lastly a multi-million dollar movie franchise starring Michael Keaton, then George Clooney, and finally Christian Bale. 1953—Crick and Watson Publish DNA Results
British scientists James D Watson and Francis Crick publish an article detailing their discovery of the existence and structure of deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, in Nature magazine. Their findings answer one of the oldest and most fundamental questions of biology, that of how living things reproduce themselves. 1967—First Space Program Casualty Occurs
Soviet cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov dies in Soyuz 1 when, during re-entry into Earth's atmosphere after more than ten successful orbits, the capsule's main parachute fails to deploy properly, and the backup chute becomes entangled in the first. The capsule's descent is slowed, but it still hits the ground at about 90 mph, at which point it bursts into flames. Komarov is the first human to die during a space mission. 1986—Otto Preminger Dies
Austro–Hungarian film director Otto Preminger, who directed such eternal classics as Laura, Anatomy of a Murder, Carmen Jones, The Man with the Golden Arm, and Stalag 17, and for his efforts earned a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame, dies in New York City, aged 80, from cancer and Alzheimer's disease. 1998—James Earl Ray Dies
The convicted assassin of American civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., petty criminal James Earl Ray, dies in prison of hepatitis aged 70, protesting his innocence as he had for decades. Members of the King family who supported Ray's fight to clear his name believed the U.S. Government had been involved in Dr. King's killing, but with Ray's death such questions became moot.
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