Vathek
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- $4.99
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- $4.99
Publisher Description
This novel of 1782, written in French by the wealthiest man in Britain, was the most striking and artistically successful Arabian Nights parody. (An illustrated edition.) Tales of William Beckford's profligate art collecting and extravagant architectural follies are like the Decadents' tales of the excesses of ancient emperors. In many ways, he was the prototype of artists who would come much later: Romantics, Surrealists and Aesthetes. He is best remembered for this astonishing Gothic novel dressed in the costumes of the Arabian Nights, written in two days and a night of feverish creativity.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
First published in 1782, this ornate, orientalist work of supernatural horror from Beckford (1759 1840) is a fever dream for the senses. The evil Caliph Vathek is a glutton for all things worldly. He already has five palaces devoted to the senses (each given flowery names, including "The Palace of Perfumes or The Incentive to Pleasure" and "The Eternal or Unsatiating Banquet"), but when a giaour arrives with treasures unimaginable, Vathek wants more. Prodded by his mother, Carathis, a woman more lustful and despicable than her son, Vathek undertakes a journey to the fabled Palace of Subterranean Fire, hoping to gain supernatural powers. Along the way there are human sacrifices, spells, debauchery, and villainy. The emphasis on how evil every element of Vathek's life is (even his camel is nefarious) gives rise to some darkly comic moments. The protracted descriptions of riches and feasts are slow going, but in the stirring finale Beckford's gothic prose shines, and it's easy to see how this overlooked classic influenced the writing of Byron, Lovecraft, and Poe. This fantastical, over-the-top story will appeal to devotees of early horror.
