"Woe to the rash mortal who seeks to know that of which he should
remain ignorant; and to undertake that which surpasseth his power!"
One of the strangest and most unforgettable eighteenth-century novels,
Vathek is a wild Gothic fantasy whose sensuous imagination and grotesque
comedy have inspired writers from Byron to Lovecraft. The Caliph Vathek
is dissolute and debauched, and hungry for knowledge. When the
mysterious Giaour offers him boundless treasure and unrivalled power he
is willing to sacrifice his god, the lives of innocent children, and his
own soul to satisfy his obsession. Vathek's extraordinary journey to the
subterranean palace of Eblis, and the terrifying fate that there awaits
him, is a captivating tale of magic and oriental fantasy, sudden
violence and corrupted love, whose mix of moral fable, grotesque comedy,
and evocative beauty defies classification.
This new edition reprints Beckford's authorized English text of 1816
with its elaborate and entertaining notes. In his new Introduction,
Thomas Keymer pays special attention to the novel's literary qualities,
its hybrid nature and its connections with oriental fiction and the
Gothic as well as to its origins and Beckford's scandalous public
persona. Completely reset, the second edition includes new, fuller
notes, an up-to-date bibliography, and a new chronology of the author.
About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has
made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the
globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to
scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other
valuable features, including expert introductions by leading
authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date
bibliographies for further study, and much more.
