John Relly Beard (1800-1876) was an English Unitarian minister who wrote more than thirty books in his lifetime, including &quot;The Life of Toussaint L&#39;Ouverture&quot; in 1853 and several reference volumes on a variety of topics.<br /><br />His masterpiece &quot;The Autobiography of Satan&quot; was published in 1872 and the goal of the book is clearly described during the Preface: &#39;As this book is intended not so much for scholars as the general public, I have not attempted more than a series of readable sketches. The same consideration has led me to adopt the autobiographical form, which, with the supposition of an intelligent companion, gives me some of the advantages of a conversational style. Only in the large portion of the work devoted to the Scriptures have I, without departing from a popular manner, aimed at a certain degree of completeness. To handle adequately all the grave topics of this comprehensive theme would require a library instead of a volume.&#39;