The Rise and Demise of Monsieur Morgue is Alex Crumbie’s third book. It is a neo-gothic short story told in verse, published by Team Trident Press. The story, inspired by Nietzsche’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra, tells of a discontented and depressed man who trudges life with misery. An encounter with a corpse leads the man to reassess his life and seize the day….

The book itself is A6 size, handmade and has 24 pages and contains 10 illustrations. It is handmade and printed on recycled paper using vegetable-oil based inks using Riso printing, the most ecological printing style around.

About my books

My books are written for children, adults, and everyone in between. I believe that the best art and story-telling should have something for everyone, so I aim to incorporate important philosophical ideas and concepts into easily understood tales.

More about Riso printing…

The soya ink print process uses digital machines called Risographs. This process avoids all the worst aspects of the printing procedure. The ink is soya-based and contains none of the solvents that cause volatile organic emissions. There is no waste ink, no fixers, no wash downs, no disposable aluminium plates. The Risograph printer uses very little energy as there is no heat involved – it is a wet ink process. (This description is taken from MARC the Printers, a members-owned printing social enterprise in Manchester).