Vathek: An Arabian Tale, Paperback/William Beckford

Descriere

Description The young Caliph Vathek's hedonism is matched only by his insatiable lust for forbidden knowledge. When a hideous and strange traveller arrives bearing occult artifacts beyond mortal comprehension, the prince tumbles down a path of ruin to uncover their secrets, risking his immortal soul to unlock the secret mysteries of the universe. Vathek reads like a lost laudanum-tinged chapter of the Arabian Nights, a strange and dreamlike descent into Hell. Vathek is the first book in the Argot Early Gothic Collection. From the gloomy castles and maniacal villain of The Castle of Otranto; the sex, witchcraft, and demons of The Monk; to Vathek's dreamlike and surreal vision of gothic literature's potential, the Argot Early Gothic Collection showcases three of the most influential works that helped shape English gothic literature and the broader romantic movement of the late 18th century.