William Beckford’s "Vathek" is a dazzling and decadent Oriental tale, a cornerstone of the Gothic genre that blends supernatural horror with dark satire. The novel follows the Caliph Vathek, a proud, ambitious, and sensual ruler whose thirst for knowledge and power knows no bounds. Constructing a towering palace to satisfy his every whim, he is easily tempted by a mysterious and hideous Giaour (a demonic stranger) who promises him the treasures of the pre-Adamite sultans and the power of the supernatural in exchange for his soul. Encouraged by his sorceress mother, Carathis, Vathek embarks on a blasphemous journey, renouncing Islam and sacrificing fifty children to appease the Giaour. His quest leads him to the ruins of Istakhar and finally to the subterranean halls of Eblis, the domain of the fallen angel, where he hopes to claim his infernal rewards. He is accompanied by his beautiful and equally corrupt companion, Nouronihar, who abandons her gentle cousin Gulchenrouz for this dark pilgrimage. The climax of their journey is one of the most powerful in Gothic literature: upon reaching the palace of Eblis, they are granted their desires but are condemned to an eternity of torment, their hearts eternally aflame with hellfire and their bodies locked in a state of endless, restless agony. William Beckford’s prose is rich and ornate, creating a vivid and hallucinatory landscape of damnation that serves as a moral fable about the fatal consequences of unchecked ambition and the pursuit of forbidden knowledge.

Table of Contents:

• Vathek. Part 1

• Vathek. Part 2