Vathek

Author	William Thomas Beckford
Translator	Reverend Samuel Henley
Country	France
Language	French
Genre(s)	Gothic novel
Publisher	Oxford University Press
Released	1782 & 1786 (English)
Media Type	Print (Hardback)
Pages	224
ISBN	ISBN 1-84588-060-9

Vathek (alternatively titled Vathek, an Arabian Tale or The History of the Caliph Vathek) is a Gothic novel written by William Thomas Beckford. It was composed in French in 1782, and then translated into English by Reverend Samuel Henley, in which form it was published in 1786. Image File history File links Vathek. ... William Beckford William Thomas Beckford (October 1, 1760 – May 2, 1844) was an English novelist, art critic, travel writer and politician. ... Strawberry Hill, an English villa in the Gothic revival style, built by seminal Gothic writer Horace Walpole The gothic novel was a literary genre that belonged to Romanticism and began in the United Kingdom with The Castle of Otranto (1764) by Horace Walpole. ... Oxford University Press (OUP) is a highly-respected publishing house and a department of the University of Oxford in England. ... 1782 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1786 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... A hardcover (or hardback or hardbound) book is bound with rigid protective covers (typically of cardboard covered with cloth or heavy paper) and a stitched spine. ... Strawberry Hill, an English villa in the Gothic revival style, built by seminal Gothic writer Horace Walpole The gothic novel was a literary genre that belonged to Romanticism and began in the United Kingdom with The Castle of Otranto (1764) by Horace Walpole. ... William Beckford William Thomas Beckford (October 1, 1760 – May 2, 1844) was an English novelist, art critic, travel writer and politician. ... 1782 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... 1786 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...

Plot introduction

Vathek capitalised on the 18th century obsession with all things Oriental (see Orientalism), which was inspired by Antoine Galland's translation of The Arabian Nights (itself re-translated, into English, in 1708). 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 (1764). The result stands alongside Walpole's novel and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1818) in the first rank of early Gothic fiction. (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ... The term the Orient - literally meaning sunrise, east - is traditionally used to refer to Near, Middle, and Far Eastern countries. ... Orientalism is the study of Near and Far Eastern societies and cultures, languages and peoples by Western scholars. ... Antoine Galland (April 4, 1646 — February 17, 1715) was a French orientalist and archaeologist, and the first European translator of the Arabian Nights. ... Queen Scheherazade tells her stories to King Shahryar. ... // Events March 23 - James Francis Edward Stuart lands at the Firth of Forth July 1 - Tewoflos becomes Emperor of Ethiopia September 28 - Peter the Great defeats the Swedes at the Battle of Lesnaya Kandahar conquered by Mir Wais In Masuria one third of the population die during the plague J... Voltaire at 24 years of age by Nicolas de Largillière. ... Horatio Walpole, 4th Earl of Orford, more commonly known as Horace Walpole, (September 24, 1717 – March 2, 1797), was a politician, writer, and architectural innovator He was born in London, the youngest son of British Prime Minister Robert Walpole. ... The Castle of Otranto is a 1764 novel by Horace Walpole. ... 1764 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Mary Shelley (30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist, the author of Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus. ... Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is a novel by Mary Shelley. ... 1818 (MDCCCXVIII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar. ...

Plot summary

The novel chronicles the fall from power of the Caliph Vathek (a fictionalized version of the historical Al-Wathiq), who renounces Islam and engages with his ally Nouronihar 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. Caliph is the title for the Islamic leader of the Ummah, or community of Islam. ... Al-Wathiq ibn Mutasim (d. ... Islam (Arabic:  ) is a monotheistic religion based upon the Quran, its principal scripture, whose followers, known as Muslims (مسلم), believe God (Arabic: الله ) sent through revelations to Muhammad. ... Look up Supernatural in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Medieval illustration of Hell in the Hortus deliciarum manuscript of Herrad of Landsberg (about 1180) Hell, according to many religious beliefs, is a place or a state of pain and suffering. ... In Islam, Iblīs (Arabic إبليس), or Enais is the devil of the Christian and Jewish faiths called Satan or Lucifer. ...

Literary significance & criticism

H. P. Lovecraft cited Vathek as the inspiration for his never-finished novel Azathoth.^[1] Vathek is also believed to have been a model for Lovecraft's completed novel The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath.^[2] George Gordon, Lord Byron also cited Vathek as a source for his poem, The Giaour. Howard Phillips Lovecraft (August 20, 1890 – March 15, 1937) was an American author of fantasy, horror and science fiction, noted for combining these three genres within single narratives. ... Azathoth is a the beginning of a never-completed novel written by American horror fiction writer H. P. Lovecraft. ... The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath is a novella by H. P. Lovecraft. ...

Allusions/references to other works

Eblis, the architect of Vathek's damnation, was modelled on Iblis or Azazel; Beckford's use of the name is derived from John Milton's Paradise Lost (see Fallen angel). Iblīs (Arabic إبليس), is the primary devil in Islam. ... A modern interpretation of Azazel, from Collin de Plancys Dictionnaire Infernal (Paris,1825) This article is about the Biblical and post-Biblical character Azazel. ... John Milton, English poet John Milton (December 9, 1608 – November 8, 1674) was an English poet, best-known for his epic poem Paradise Lost. ... Title page of the first edition Paradise Lost is an epic poem by the 17th-century English poet John Milton. ... It has been suggested that Evil Angels be merged into this article or section. ...

Notes

1. ^ Robert M. Price, The Azathoth Cycle, pp. vi-ix.
2. ^ S. T. Joshi and David E. Schultz, "Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, The", An H. P. Lovecraft Encyclopedia, p. 74.

Robert McNair Price was born July 7, 1954 in Mississippi and is a Professor of Theology and Scriptural Studies. ... Sunanda Tryambak Joshi (b. ...

External links

• Free eBook Vathek at Project Gutenberg