The Devil's Own Work: Valancourt 20th Century Classics

By: Alan Judd

Narrated by: Matt Godfrey

After Edward, a rising young author, pens a savage review of the new novel by the world-famous O.M. Tyrell, he is surprised to receive an invitation to visit the old man at his villa in the south of France. The night of their meeting, Tyrell dies, and soon after, Edward's career mysteriously starts to soar as he earns fame, fortune and critical acclaim. But despite his achievements, Edward seems haunted, even tormented. His friend, the narrator, begins to put together the pieces of the story: an ancient, inscrutable manuscript, a beautiful, ageless woman who attaches herself to any writer who possesses it, and a bargain to achieve success at a terrible price....

Winner of Britain's prestigious Guardian Fiction Prize, Alan Judd's modern classic The Devil's Own Work (1991) is, as Owen King writes in the new introduction to this edition, "a perfect novel about the demonic possession that is literary ambition." This edition also features a new afterword by the author, in which he reveals the inspirations for this haunting tale.

©1991, 2017 Alan Judd (P)2017 Valancourt Books

Critic reviews

"At once moral fable, cautionary ghost story and inspired attack on the whole hellbent drift of modern letters, this is a splendid tale, splendidly told, which Ford or Henry James would have been glad to have written." - Robert Nye, Guardian

"Wry and insightful...toys with the notion of demonic possession but becomes a thoroughly realistic and highly original story of revenge; a chilling cautionary tale." - Elaine Kendall, Los Angeles Times

"A brief return to the world of Faust, Mephistopheles and the Devil pact. Mr. Judd...achieves a deep polish." - Robert Grudin, The New York Times Book Review

Beautifully written!

This is a beautifully written short story and it achieves what many short stories are unable to achieve; a natural unhurried flow to a satisfying ending. It doesn't need to be any longer or any shorter than it is - the length is just right. I would have liked to have learned a bit more about the demonic girlfriend/muse character but overall I thought the character development was good. Additionally the author, Alan Judd, provides many thoughtful insights about life and the human experience in general while telling the story. Moments that have leave the reader stopping and thinking, "yeah, he's right about that" or "I hadn't thought about it in that way, but what an elegant way to put it". All told, it's actually quite remarkable how much the author is able to pack into this compact novel. The reader did a very nice job with this story as well. His British accent was truly unique and remarkably similar to a theater professor I once had many years ago. This particular professor was born in the UK but had lived all over the world before finally settling in the US. I found the accent very applicable given that this character had also lived in a couple different places after starting out in England. As always, Matt Godfrey's voice is totally soothing, even whilst reading thrillers/horror novels. An added surprise bonus at the end was the author's post notes in which he described his own life experiences that ultimately inspired this story. Thank you Audiobook Boom, Alan Judd, and Matt Godfrey for a complimentary version of this audiobook in exchange for my fair and unbiased review.

Unexpected pleasure

I've not read this author, had no expectations, but was eng as God by the story, which, despite its calm narration, I suspect will haunt me.

Subtle, sinister and brooding

Valancourt Books is turning out some truly great older forgotten or neglected works of fiction. Major kudos to them for brining back some of these rarer works that I may have otherwise missed.

I listened to this one on audio and as usual, Matt Godfrey nailed it. I don’t think I have ever listened to anything narrated by Matt that wasn’t done supremely well. Of course, it helps when the story is great as well but sometimes narration can elevate the experience. Well done, sir.

As far as the story itself, I loved it. It was subtle and sinister and brooding and much darker than the words on the page. Plus, I’m a sucker for stories about nefarious old book and manuscripts.

Short but great

It's a retelling of Faust from the perspective of an admiring onlooker. The writing itself was absolutely excellent and the narrator does it credit. The only drawback is that it is fairly short. For better or worse, I got wrapped up in it and finished it in a single listen.

Interesting Novella

Interesting premise of a writer who sells his artistic soul for success. It's pretty short, eerie, and easy to get through.

Great performance of captivating novella!

Another outstanding performance by Godfrey. As for the story itself, it is a spooky Henry James style tale involving the seemingly supernatural side of artistic inspiration. The opening premise is outstanding, though I felt the second half meanders a bit. Solid conclusion, however. Recommended overall.

Great performance mediocre story

Perhaps I’m too jaded, but as an avid fan of horror and all things scary and supernatural, this book was a ticket on the slow train to Dullsville. I kept waiting for something utterly chilling to happen only to be left wanting. Luckily this book was inexpensive. Nevertheless, if I had known it was going to be so dull I would have spent my money elsewhere.