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Cover of Vintage Book of the Devil
Book details

Vintage Book of the Devil

by Francis Spufford

Published 1992400 pagesISBN 978-0-0997-4461-0

The devil lives in our imagination, at once menacing and strangely attractive - our oldest symbol of evil, a figure of folklore and the instantly recognizable hero of a 1000 cartoons. We can't seem to dispense with his presence, whether to raise an urbane shiver, or to explain the worst that humankind can do. Pain is real, suffering is real; why not a dark counterpart to God, dispensing both? Yet the history of the Devil tells a more ambiguous tale. Introducing this collection of diabolical appearances in scripture, fiction, drama, poetry and myth - Medieval or Miltonic, chilling or absurd - Lucifer himself reflects on a remarkable career.

Beyond its central premise, the book can be read through the connected lenses of Nonfiction, Fiction. Those themes offer useful points of attention as the characters, ideas, or world develop, especially where the book complicates the expectations of its primary category.

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Full BookenDeX details

What the reading experience may hold

A fuller profile for choosing with more confidence—not just another copy of the preview.

Themes to notice

Nonfiction · Fiction

Use these as starting points rather than limits; the most memorable books often stretch beyond their catalog labels.

Content notes

No specific content concerns can be confirmed from the available English catalog information. Consult a publisher or reader-supplied guide when detailed warnings matter.

These notes are inferred from available catalog information and may not be complete. Check a publisher or reader-supplied guide if you need comprehensive warnings.

Reading experience

Dark tone · Measured pace

A comfortable full-length choice for steady daily reading.

Who it may suit

A good fit if…

Readers who want a thoughtful experience and enjoy noticing the connections beneath a book’s surface story.

At a glance

This book's DNA

A visual estimate based on this edition's categories, description, and length. Select a star to explore the signals.

ToneDark
LuminousDark

This signal is descriptive, not a rating. It helps compare the kind of reading experience this edition may offer.

No plot details

Spoiler-Free Emotional Arc

A broad estimate of the book’s emotional rhythm, shown without story events or outcomes.

Spoiler-free
12345
PeakRelative emotional intensity
Vintage Book of the DevilFrancis Spufford
Heightened4.1/5

This visualization is an interpretive estimate based on catalog description, categories, tone, pace, and content signals. It does not describe specific scenes.

Before you choose

A quick reading snapshot

Edition facts and catalog signals to help you decide whether this book fits what you want to read next.

Reading lengthA standard-length read400 pages in this edition
Publication eraModernFirst published or edition dated 1992
Primary categoryNonfictionAlso cataloged under Fiction
ISBN-13
978-0-0997-4461-0
Language
English
Edition record
OL9274518M
BookenDeX editorial lens

A more thoughtful way into this book

This guide uses the edition details and category signals above to help you choose deliberately. It does not replace the author's work or a full review.

Good to know

A comfortable full-length choice for steady daily reading.

Begin with its place in Nonfiction, then notice where the book resists that label.

Try this reading approach

Read for connection, not completion.

Mark one passage that sharpens the book's central concern and one that complicates it. That tension often reveals more than a quick summary.

Three questions to carry with you

  1. Whose perspective organizes the story, and whose perspective remains outside it?
  2. Which sources or lived experiences carry the author’s central argument?
  3. How does the book change the way you understand its larger subject?

Editorial framework by Wesley Bryan, BookenDeX Founder and Editor.