Vathek

Vathek is a Gothic novel written by William Beckford. Vathek capitalized on the 18th (and early 19th) century obsession with all things Oriental, which was inspired by Antoine Galland's translation of The Arabian Nights. Beckford was also influenced by similar works from the French writer Voltaire. His originality lay in combining the popular Oriental elements with the Gothic stylings of Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto. The result stands alongside Walpole's novel and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein in the first rank of early Gothic fiction.The novel chronicles the fall from power of the Caliph Vathek (a fictionalised version of the historical Al-Wathiq), who renounces Islam and engages with his mother, Carathis, in a series of licentious and deplorable activities designed to gain him supernatural powers. At the end of the novel, instead of attaining these powers, Vathek descends into a hell ruled by the demon Eblis where he is doomed to wander endlessly and speechlessly.Vathek, the ninth Caliph of the Abassides, ascended to the throne at an early age. He is a majestic figure, terrible in anger (one glance of his flashing eye can make "the wretch on whom it was fixed instantly fall backwards and sometimes expire"), and addicted to the pleasures of the flesh. He is intensely thirsty for knowledge and often invites scholars to converse with him. If he fails to convince the scholar of his points of view, he attempts a bribe; if this does not work, he sends the scholar to prison. To better study astronomy, he builds an observation tower with 11,000 steps.

Kevin L. Cope, Louisiana State University

“Sympathetic to Beckford’s odd and yet unexpectedly typical position as a member of the ruling class with progressive attitudes and often rebellious tastes, Graham offers us the first true appreciation of Beckford as a literary innovator, oriental scholar, social visionary, and plain old curious character. The first volume to take Beckford in all his sardonic comedy truly seriously, Graham’s Vathek with The Episodes of Vathek is certain to remain the standard edition of, and commentary on, Beckford for decades to come.”

Sydney Conger, Western Illinois University

“Kenneth W. Graham’s introduction to William beckford’s Vathek with The Episodes is simply packed with information, and includes one of the finest discussions of Oriental Tales I’ve encountered. 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 Literary Texts 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 Literary Texts series is a delight to handle as well as to 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.

From the Back Cover

William Beckford’s Vathek is a touchstone of eighteenth-century Orientalism and of the Gothic novel. Beckford’s later work, The Episodes of Vathek, shares Vathek’s irreverent and decadent style, and an edition that unites the two has long been overdue. The Broadview edition includes a newly discovered early version of the first episode, never before in print, that centres on male-male love, as well as the previously published version that was re-written by Beckford as a heterosexual narrative. Based on the 1823 edition―the last one edited by the author himself―the Broadview Edition also introduces The Episodes in the order Beckford planned, and incorporates his final corrections.

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.

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