The Monk
I hope to write a proper review of this book later, but for now, all I want to say is that this has been the most fun and diabolical romp through the darkest recesses of Gothic fiction that I have ever come across.
I'm not sure it is a book I would recommend without reservations because there are large parts where this story just drags on and on, but it is definitely also a book I wish I had read much earlier.
And for what it is worth, I am very impressed that this story ends with both a bang and a whimper.