Author: Marie Corelli
Genre: Detective, Mystic novel
Publication: 1895
Number of pages: 374
Can the devil be a positive character? This is the question I kept asking myself while reading Marie Corelli’s The Sorrows of Satan. It seems like the novel is at the peak of its fame again, because the number of copies sold around the world is only growing. In fact Marie Corelliwas by far the best-seller of the Victorian era too. She sold more books than Arthur Conan Doyle and Rudyard Kipling together. Only 50,000 copies of the book were sold within the first two months of its publication. So what is this mystic book about?
Plot Summary
The book is about a talented but poor writer named Geoffrey Tempest. He writes to a university friend, asking to borrow 50 shillings to pay his rent. Not only does this friend send him the money, but he also introduces Geoffrey to a mysterious and attractive man: Lucio Rimanez. Soon after, Geoffrey learns that an uncle he barely remembers has died and left him an enormous inheritance — so vast that he would never need to work again. Overwhelmed by his sudden fortune, Geoffrey quickly begins making plans to publish his book and earn literary fame. At this point, Prince Lucio offers to help him become even richer and more successful than he ever imagined. Geoffrey, seduced by the offer, agrees.
Lucio — young, charming, and impossibly wealthy — is no ordinary man. He is the Devil himself, cleverly determined to tempt Geoffrey with wealth, vanity, and pride. This narrative immediately calls to mind Christ’s warning in the Bible: “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”Lucio is a clear example of that idea — he slowly convinces Geoffrey that money will solve everything, while quietly pulling him away from what he believes in and what really matters.
He starts making deals with publishers and quickly gains a reputation as a wealthy and successful writer. Lucio introduces him to Sybil, a stunningly beautiful woman who eventually agrees to marry him. But despite his fame and his marriage to one of the most admired women in the country, Geoffrey feels deeply unfulfilled. The inspiration and joy he once had seem to vanish from his life. His world begins to unravel — and he soon realizes that even his wife doesn’t truly love him.
Full Summary and Ending
Despite having everything he ever wanted — money, fame, and a beautiful wife — Geoffrey becomes hollow and unhappy. His creativity dries up; he cannot write another book or feel the fulfillment and joy he once had. His wife, Sybil, is in love with Lucio. One day, Geoffrey catches them together in their own home and realizes how desperately Sybil longs for a kiss from Lucio. But his devilish friend rejects her and even scolds her for her immoral behavior. Geoffrey feels deeply alone and unhappy.
When he meets Mavis Clare, another successful writer, we see a vivid contrast between a tempted soul and a pure one. Geoffrey has compromised his values for fame and fortune, while Clare has achieved success through sincerity, humanity, and genuine talent. Geoffrey envies her because her popularity is earned, while his is bought. She writes not to impress, but to inspire and uplift. She is untouched by fame, money, or flattery. Her character remains steady and kind, guided by a strong sense of ethics and inner peace.
As time passes, Sybil — rejected by Lucio and disappointed in her own life — takes her own life, leaving behind a long letter to Geoffrey. In it, she confesses her deep emotional emptiness and admits that she never loved him. She married him out of social expectation and self-interest, not affection. Her words carry a cold honesty, but also a kind of desperation — a final attempt to explain herself before choosing death as an escape.
“I married you for your wealth and position, not for love. I thought these would bring me happiness, but instead, they have left me empty and desolate. I cannot bear the life I have chosen, and I see no escape from this misery.”
Near the end of the book, Lucio takes Geoffrey on a journey to Egypt and finally reveals his true identity: Geoffrey now knows he is the Devil. During the boat trip, mystical things begin to happen. Lucio speaks more openly — not as a tempter, but as a tragic philosopher who has lost hope in humanity.
He reveals his own torment. He says he does not force people into sin — he simply offers them what they already desire. He is not the cause of human egoism, only its mirror. How sorrowful it is, he says, that people are so quick to chase power and vanity while turning away from love and God.
Lucio expresses his deep boredom and disappointment with mankind. He sees people as predictable, selfish, and corruptible — forever chasing materialism over morality, and doomed to repeat the same mistakes. He envies humans because they still have the chance to be saved, though most choose not to take it.
It is on this boat that Geoffrey finally sees the cost of his own choices. In the end, he decides to return to where he began — to a life of poverty, but one filled with peace and meaning. Lucio leaves him. But sometime later, Geoffrey sees him again — casually chatting with a well-known politician — and then they disappear into the darkness together.
Review
I’m giving this book a 9 out of 10 — not because of any flaw in the writing, but because it’s not the kind of book you can read casually before bed. It’s the kind of book that asks you to be open-minded and engaged — especially with its philosophical and religious themes. It’s not for everyone, but for those willing to take the book, I am telling you, it’s incredibly rewarding. What impressed me most was how the author explored contrasts — greed and honesty, wealth and integrity, illusion and truth. And above all, the portrayal of the Devil struck me: not as a monstrous villain, but as a sorrowful figure, deeply disappointed in mankind yet speaking of God with a surprising respect.
The themes reminded me of The Master and Margarita by Bulgakov and Goethe’s Faust — in all of them, the Devil is a tempter, yes, but also honest in his own way. The Sorrows of Satan offers a fresh perspective on life, morality, and the traditional view of good, evil, and God. I never imagined I would feel compassion for the Devil — or sympathy for the burden of his role on Earth. But I found myself agreeing with him: God gave us free will, but do we truly make the right choices?
Books Similar to The Sorrows of Satan
- The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky
- The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
- Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
- The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
