CHAPTER IX

“THE SORROWS OF SATAN”

As a Book--How the Critics Missed the Allegorical Idea of the Story--The Opinion of Father Ignatius: “Tens of Thousands will Bless the Author”--A Plea for more Womanliness among modern Women--Geoffrey Tempest--£5,000,000 from Satan--Prince Lucio Rimânez and his Associations with Tempest--Lady Sibyl Elton--The Effect of Perfect Beauty on a Man--The Modern Gambling Mania--Viscount Lynton’s Last Wager--The Character of Mavis Clare,--Lady Sibyl’s Bitter Description of Herself--Her Marriage with Tempest, and the Disillusionment--Her Passion for Prince Rimânez and Subsequent Suicide--The Conception of Satan, and an Explanation of his Position: “Satan becomes on Terms of Intimacy with Man only if Man shows that he wishes to Travel an Evil Course”--The Yachting Cruise and Tempest’s return to Christian Ways--Opinion of the Late Rev. H. R. Haweis.

“The Sorrows of Satan” as a Play--How Miss Corelli has Suffered from the Defective Law of Literary Copyright--The Play Written, and Read at the Shaftesbury Theatre--Miss Corelli’s Opinion of it--Miss Evelyn Millard’s Attitude with Regard to the part of “Lady Sibyl”--“The Grosvenor Syndicate”--The Play Produced--Other Versions--How the Dramatic Rights of Novels have to be Protected 164