The Monk and the Hangman's Daughter (The Heritage Press)

xiv, 80 pp. Translated from the German of Richard Voxx by Gustav Adolf Danziger and adapted by Ambrose Bierce. With an introduction by Maurice Valency and illustrations by Michel Ciry. A knot of monks happens upon a gallows in the middle of a dark forest. Hanging from the gallows is a fresh corpse, and underneath the dangling wretch a young woman performs a haunting dance. When Ambrosius falls in love with this outcast woman, his efforts to suppress his natural feelings result in a gradual descent toward calamity and tragedy. Bierce’s subtle transformation of the monk Ambrosius from innocent monk to violent zealot is masterfully done, ranking this among Bierce’s finest achievements.