Product Description

Written in 1782 by the near-legendary hedonist William Beckford when he was only twenty-one, Vathek, or the History of the Caliph Vathek, was the first Oriental-Gothic horror novel in English literature. It tells the story of Vathek, the debauched and pleasure-seeking ninth Caliph of the Abassides, who decides to build a great tower to 'penetrate the secrets of heaven'. The appearance of an Indian magician arouses Vathek's thirst for knowledge and he is willing to go to any lengths, including the sacrifice of fifty of the most beautiful boys in his kingdom, to gain access to the 'Palace of Subterranean Fire', where the magician promises he will find treasures, intelligences and talismans that control the world. A rousing novel, Vathek is a classic tale of greed and lust for power containing magic, trickery and betrayal all culminating in an age-old showdown between good and evil.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #932519 in Books
• Published on: 2005-07-29
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

Sydney Conger, Western Illinois University
"With its careful editing, its appendices, maps, and bibliography, this new, expanded edition of Vathek is, all in all, superb."

From the Publisher
The Broadview Editions series is an effort to represent the ever-changing canon of literature in English by bringing together texts long regarded as classics with valuable, lesser-known literature. Newly type-set and produced on high-quality paper in trade paperback format, the Broadview Editions series is a delight to handle as well as read.

Each volume includes a full introduction, chronology, bibliography, and explanatory notes along with a variety of documents from the period, giving readers a rich sense of the world from which the work emerged.

About the Author
Kenneth W Graham teaches at the University of Guelph. He has written widely on eighteenth-century literature. His books include Gothic Fictions: Prohibition/Transgression, and "Vathek" and the Escape from Time: Bicentenary Revalutations.

Customer Reviews

not an easy read
I read Vathek in my late teens when I had a fascination with all things macabre. I was not dissapointed with Vathek on this point but what irritated me then, and still does now, is the rather contrived and inpenetrable style in which it is written (or possibly translated). There is not much of a story to it, but some of the episodes are entertaining- I was particularly amused by the one about someone having half their beard burned off.

If you are a big fan of the gothic genre then you'll probably take great delight in Vathek, but for the more general reader it is something of a pain. The elements are there, it's just not done with enough finesse.

I read an unillustrated edition myself- I'm sure that Redon's illustrations add a lot to the reading experience.

Often overlooked, but a brilliant pice of English literature
'Vathek' the novel is peverse, twisted and politically incorrect to the extreme. The main protagonist himslef is likewise viscious and completely 'evil' if such a thing does exist. Yet it is perhaps these two facets that help to make 'Vathek' so compelling, so fresh and so orignal and down-right funny. That's right, if you have a wicked sense of humour and enjoy the odd toilet joke then this book is certainly for you.

However, it would be wrong to suggets that 'Vathek' is nothing more than a series of smutty jokes and grusome scenes. It is much more. Beckford supposedly wrote the novel within 48hrs - without sleep! In spite of this he has somehow managed to create a world that pushes the imaginative envelope to the extreme. This book will live with me for life. READ IT!