Vathek (Oxford World's Classics)

by WilliamBeckford (Author), RogerLonsdale (Editor)

• Used

  Paperback
  1998

  $3.27

  Beckford's Gothic novel, Vathek, an Arabian tale, was originally written in French when the author was 21. It is the story of Caliph Vathek, whose eye can kill at a glance, who makes a pact with the Devil, Eblis.

• Used

  Paperback
  2005

  $3.27

  Vathek, a virtual fantasy autobiography of William Beckford, was the first Oriental Gothic horror novel in English literature. First published in 1786, it relates the story of the villainous Caliph Vathek, a man devoted to sensual pleasures and obsessed with the acquisition of knowledge and beautiful objects alike, who builds a great tower to 'penetrate the secrets of heaven'. Set in the exotic surroundings of Arabia, Vathek is a classic tale of lust for riches and power, where magic, trickery and betrayal abound.