{"product_id":"2940014479172","title":"Melmoth the Wanderer","description":"The central character, Melmoth (a Wandering Jew type), is a scholar who sells his soul to the devil in exchange for 150 extra years of life; he spends that time searching for someone who will take over the pact for him. The novel takes place in the present but the backstory is revealed through several nested stories-within-a-story that work backwards through time.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eChapter I: The story opens in 1816: John Melmoth, a student in Dublin, visits his dying uncle. He sees a portrait of his namesake dated '1646' and catches glimpse of 'the Traveller'.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eChapter II: Funeral. Biddy Brannigan tells John the family story. A stranger called Stanton arrived looking for the Traveller, and left behind a manuscript. John finds Stanton's manuscript.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eChapter III: Stanton's story opens in Spain in the 1670s. Stanton encounters the Traveller laughing at the sight of two lovers who have been blasted by lightning. An old Spanish woman tells him the story of the Cardoza wedding at which the Traveller was an uninvited guest. The bride died on her wedding night and the bridegroom went mad. Stanton pursues and finds the Traveller in a theatre in London. The Traveller tells him they will meet again. Stanton's obsession with the Traveller is judged madness and he is tricked into a madhouse. There, the Traveller appears and offers to free him but Stanton refuses. Stanton escapes and looks for him in Ireland to no avail. Following his uncle's wish, John burns the portrait, but later that night he is visited by his ancestor in his dreams.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eChapter IV: The following stormy night, John witnesses the Traveller laughing at a shipwreck. John tries to approach him, but slips and falls into the sea.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eChapter V: John is saved from drowning bye the sole survivor of the wreck, a Spaniard Alonzo Monçada, who begins to tell him his story.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eChapter VI: Monçada continues his story. He is confined unwillingly to a monastery by his family.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eChapter VII: Monçada continues his story. His appeal to leave the monastery is rejected and his brother Juan sends messages saying he will help him escape.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eChapter VIII: Monçada continues his story. He attempts to escape with the help of a fellow monk, a parricide.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eChapter IX: Monçada continues his story. The parricide monk tells his story. They escape, but it is a trap and Monçada's brother is killed.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eChapter X: Monçada continues his story. Monçada is held and examined in the prison of the Inquisition.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eChapter XI: Monçada continues his story. He is visited in his cell by the Traveller, who says he will help him escape. A fire breaks out, the prison is evacuated and in the confusion Monçada escapes.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eChapter XII: Monçada continues his story. He finds his way to the house of a Jew, but officers of the Inquisition arrive searching for him. The Jew helps Monçada escape through a secret trapdoor into an underground passage.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eChapter XIII: Monçada continues his story. He finds himself in a secret chamber with a venerable Jewish scholar, Adonijah. The chamber is decorated with the skeletons of members of Adonijah's family.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eChapter XIV: Monçada continues his story. Monçada is almost out of his mind with terror, but Adonijah gives him food and drink, and says he must transcribe a certain manuscript for him. This contains The Tale of the Indians: an island in the Indies which has been devastated and depopulated by a storm is said to be haunted by a white goddess. A pair of Indian lovers discover the white goddess on the island and worship her. (The story is announced as 'The Tale of the Indians', but at its conclusion this is altered to 'The Tale of the Indian'.)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eChapter XV: Monçada's story: The Tale of the Indians. Immalee, the name the natives have given to the 'white goddess', encounters the Traveller. He tells her he comes from 'the world that suffers', but she is immediately fascinated by him.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eChapter XVI: Monçada's story: The Tale of the Indians continues. Immalee is again visited by the Traveller who starts to try to destroy her innocence, showing her the shortcomings of various religions. Immalee decides she will be a Christian.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eChapter XVII: Monçada's story: The Tale of the Indians continues. The Traveller returns and shows Immalee the failings of human societies and human relationships. Immalee despairs of her love for him.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eChapter XVIII: Monçada's story: The Tale of the Indians continues. The Traveller returns and continues with his attempts to corrupt Immalee. She reiterates her love for him and begs him to stay with her and not to go back to his world of 'evil and sorrow', but he will not.","brand":"DB Publishing House","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47070650269936,"sku":"2940014479172","price":0.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940014479172_p0.jpg?v=1763609531","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940014479172","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}