The Devil's Own Work
| The Devil's Own Work | |
|---|---|
 1st edition (UK) |
|
| Author(s) | Alan Judd |
| Cover artist | Gustav Klimt, "Judith", 1901 |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Harper Collins (UK) Knopf (US) |
| Publication date | 1991 (UK) 1994 (US) |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 96 (UK) |
| ISBN | 0-00-223832-2 |
The Devil's Own Work is a 1991 novella by Alan Judd which won the Guardian Fiction Award. A modern version of the Faust legend,[1] it was inspired by a dinner with Graham Greene.[2] and tells of a pact an author makes with the devil as told by his lifelong friend. In style the work was compared by Publisher's Weekly with that of Henry James.[3]
Plot introduction
The unnamed narrator tells of his friend Edward's meeting with O. M. (Old Man) Tyrell, a renowned author. Tyrell is found dead the following morning and the narrator later learns that Tyrell has given Edward a peculiar handwritten manuscript which becomes the source of Edward's later literary success. Edward also inherits Tyrell's ageless mistress Eudoxie but all is far from well with Edward who grows to loath the hold that the manuscript and Eudoxie have over him but is unable to escape...
