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The world had been destroyed and only the lamp-post, like Noah, preserved from the universal cataclysm.

ALDOUS HUXLEY Point Counter Point, 1928

Pegasus In Greek mythology, Pegasus was the winged horse on which Perseus came to rescue Andromeda, who had been tied to a rock and left to be devoured by a sea monster. The name Pegasus can represent a means of escape.

Bertie, in short, was to be the Pegasus on whose wings they were to ride out of their present dilemma.

ANTHONY TROLLOPE Barchester Towers, 1857

He seemed to see her like a lovely rock-bound Andromeda, with the devouring monster Society careering up to make a mouthful of her; and himself whirling down on his winged horse—just Pegasus turned Rosinante for the nonce—to cut her bonds, snatch her up, and whirl her back into the blue.

EDITH WHARTON The Custom of the Country, 1913

Jack Sheppard Jack Sheppard (1702-24) was a notorious thief who was famous for his prison escapes, including one in which he escaped from Newgate prison through a chimney. He was later captured and hanged.

He is safe now at any rate. Jack Sheppard himself couldn't get free from the strait-

waistcoat that keeps him restrained.

BRAM STOKER Dracula, 1897

Teflon Teflon (®) is a material used as a non-stick coating for pans and kitchen utensils. Its name can be used in connection with criminals who always manage to avoid having criminal charges 'stuck' on them, or with politicians who seem able to shrug off scandal or misjudgement so that nothing 'sticks'.

In their periods of melancholy, such as the day he walked from court after beating a charge of importing 1.4 tonnes of pure cocaine, they called him the Teflon criminal!

The Observer, 1997

Tinker Bell In J. M. Barrie's play Peter Pan (first performed in 1904), Tinker Bell is a fairy and a friend of Peter's. It is said in the play that every time someone says that they do not believe in fairies, a fairy dies. When Tinker Bell herself is close to death, members of the audience are invited to clap their hands to show that they do believe in fairies, and thus save Tinker Bell's life.

Evil

Most of the entries below deal with individual exemplars of villainy and

wickedness. Allusions to other aspects of the idea of evil are covered else-

where in this book. • See also Criminals, Devil, Dictators and Tyrants,

Monsters, Ruthlessness, Unpleasant or Wicked Places.

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than ever. He felt as if he had come to look for Miranda and had been met by Caliban.

OSCAR WILDE The Picture of Dorian Gray, 1891

I was wrestling with my unconscious, an immense dark brother who seeped around me when I was awake, flowed over me when I slept . . . a force with a baby's features, greedy orifices, a madman's cunning and an animal's endurance, a Caliban as quicksilver as Ariel.

EDMUND WHITE A Boy's Own Story 1982

Cmella de Vil Cruella de Vil is the rich, evil, screeching villainess in Dodie Smith's One Hundred and One Dalmations (1956), who steals ninety-nine Dalmation puppies in order to make a spotted fur coat from their skins. Two Disney film versions have been made, an animated one in 1961 and a liveaction remake in 1996.

Something terrible had happened to the toughest office manager in Manchester. Imagine Cruella De Vil transformed into one of those cuddly Dalmation puppies, only more so. It was like watching Ben Nevis grovel. And could you sign one, "for Ted"?' she begged.

VAL MCDERMID Star Struck, 1988

Darth Vader Darth Vader is the villain in the film Star Wars (1977) and its sequels. Formerly Anakin Skywalker, a Jedi knight who has been corrupted to 'the dark side', Darth Vader is always dressed in black and wears a helmet.

Markby looked towards the large studio portrait of the late Jack glowering handsomely from a sidetable. A dark-haired, thick-browed, lantern-jawed thug. Women often found that type attractive. Clyn didn't resemble him particularly. Perhaps he rode around on the motorbike, dressed up like Darth Vader, to compensate.

ANN GRANGER Candle for a Corpse, 1995

Eve According to the biblical account, Eve committed the first sin by disobeying God's command not to eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge and by enticing Adam to do the same. She can thus be alluded to in the context of wrongdoing or tempting another to wrongdoing. • See special entry a ADAM AND EVE on p. 5.

When the women came in they were older than I had imagined, not at all like the pictures in the priest's book of sinful things. Not snake-like, Eve-like with breasts like apples, but round and resigned, hair thrown into hasty bundles or draped around their shoulders.

JEANETTE WINTERSON The Passion, 1987

Herod Herod the Great (c.74-4 BC) was the Roman King of Judaea who, according to Matthew's Gospel, ordered the Massacre of the Innocents, hoping that by killing all male children under two he would ensure the death of the infant Jesus. Allusions to Herod are often in the context of the killing of children on a large scale.

'I think of the A4,' sez he, 'as a baby Jesus, with endless committees of Herods out to destroy it in its infancy.'

THOMAS PYNCHON Gravity's Rainbow, 1973

The infant Udin is dead. I mourn him as though he had been my own. I say Sukarno

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Lady Macbeth In Shakespeare's play Macbeth (1623), Lady Macbeth plots with her husband to kill King Duncan so that her husband can assume the throne in his place. She persuades him to commit the murder despite his hesitation and reluctance. Any ambitious, scheming, or ruthless woman can be described as a Lady Macbeth.

'In a way her son was a much nastier character. Sophie was Lady Macbeth writ large. She pulled the trigger on Jean-Louis and Caterina Tozharska herself He smiled wryly. 'But even Lady Macbeth couldn't bring herself to kill!

MAX MARQUIS Written in Blood, 1995

Moloch Moloch was a Canaanite deity referred to in several books of the Old Testament to whom worshippers sacrificed their children. The Israelites, moving into the land of Canaan, were expressly forbidden to worship Moloch (Levi. 18: 21).

Indeed . . . the national education of women is of the utmost consequence, for what a number of human sacrifices are made to that Moloch prejudice!

MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT A Vindication of the Rights of Women, 1792

Rasputin Grigori Rasputin (1871-1916) was a Russian monk, notorious for his debauchery, who came to exert great influence over the Tsarina Alexandra, wife of Nicholas II, by claiming miraculous powers to heal the heir to the throne, who suffered from haemophilia. Rasputin was eventually assassinated by a group of Russian noblemen loyal to the Tsar.

Believe me, I'd much rather be by your side than poolside, where I spend most of my time these days. Which is what a 'development deal' seems to entail. . . . I develop a tan while the studio develops cold feet on the project. Happily, thanks to my beloved agent, Rasputin, they still have to pay oodles of money either way, but I have to stick around awhile, just in case it's a go.

JANE DENTINCER Death Mask, 1988

Whore of Babylon The Whore of Babylon is referred to in the Book of Revelation. She is described as a woman sitting on a scarlet beast with seven heads and ten horns: 'The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication.' On her forehead was written: 'Babylon the great, mother of harlots and abominations of the earth' (Rev. 17: 3-5). The term was applied to the Roman Catholic Church by the early Puritans, and could also be used to represent sexual immorality.

I'd marry the W— of Babylon rather than do anything dishonourable! THOMAS HARDY Jude the Obscure, 1895

Here he was: leading foreigners over in hordes to places that were not theirs, to cause disputes, to uproot niggers, to plant the Whore of Babylon in the midst of the righteous!

FLANNERY O'CONNOR The Displaced Person, 1953