Three tales, ‘inspired by the devil’, written and published in Il Hmar (The Donkey) in 1928 over a period of 37 days by Ġużè Ellul Mercer and immediately censored and condemned by Maltese bishop Mauro Caruana will be published in a new edition by SKS Publishers.

The new edition will feature three studies by Mark Vella, Evarist Bartolo and Immanuel Mifsud.

Il-Ħrejjef ta’ Barraminnhaw’ (The Devil’s Tales) are one of the first literary works of Ellul Mercer, then a young man of 31 striving for a just society that cares for the vulnerable.

The stories by Ġuzè Ellul Mercer were first published in the newspaper Il Hmar (The Donkey) in 1928.

“These tales show the author as we never read him and as we hardly imagine him”, say the publishers, who will be featuring three as yet published ħrejjef in this upcoming edition, namely Il-Mara tal-Galbu (A Gentlewoman), Sirena (Siren) and Bniedem (A Man).

Ellul Mercer famously said it is the devil who inspires these short stories.

“As authors often do in repressive societies, he uses humour and irony to forward his message,” say the publishers.

“His devil is not the ferocious devil who took it against God and does what he can to drag as many people as he can to hell. He is a very small devil, nothing to be afraid of; on the contrary, he brings you mercy, he is not a liar, shackled by one leg and with twisted wings. He is a man’s devil and Ellul Mercer hints that he identifies himself with him”.

Ellul Mercer began to publish his Barraminnhaw’ tales in the newspaper Il Hmar on December 20, 1928.

Ellul Mercer famously said it is the devil who inspires these short stories

The last of these tales was published on December 8, 1928, with Ellul Mercer promising his readers that the tales will continue. But that turned out to be the last time that any myth of Barraminnhaw’ would be broadcast.

Three days later, on December 11, 1928, a circular was issued by the Curia condemning these “fairy tales”, with bishop Caruana declaring that it was a mortal sin to read the story Bniedem (The Man) or print, sell, read or keep the newspaper Il Hmar.

Il-Ħrejjef ta Barraminnhaw’ features an introduction by Vella on what led the Maltese Church to censor Ellul Mercer. The study is titled ‘Forgetting and hiding, a history of censorship – a historical-literary background for Il-Ħrejjef ta’ Barraminnhaw’.’

Ġuzè Ellul Mercer

The edition also includes a literary-political analysis of Ellul Mercer’s contribution to Maltese literature and politics by Bartolo titled ‘Ġużè Ellul Mercer: the moderate-radical writer and politician’.

Mifsud, in turn, delves into the most famous depictions of Satan in literature with his essay ‘The devil’s look: the strange stories of Ġuzè Ellul Mercer’.

Ellul Mercer was himself excommunicated by the Church during the religious/political spat of the 1960s between the Maltese Church and the Labour Party.

He died as deputy leader of the Malta Labour Party and member of parliament on September 22, 1961, and was buried in unconsecrated ground at the Addolorata Cemetery, known as the ‘the rubbish tip’.

The book will be on sale from leading bookshops for the price of €15 and online from skspublishers.com.