The unusual, astonishing, and frightening image of Melmoth, created by Charles Robert Maturin’s sparkling talent, has no equal in nineteenth-century literature. John Melmoth, a man tempted by Satan, was doomed to do evil against his will. He was cursed by dark forces, and he could only rid himself of the curse if he managed to tempt another person the way he himself was tempted long ago. Melmoth is forced to wander the world in search of a victim, but even as…