The History of Caliph Vathek
A Dark Gothic Arabian Fantasy of Power, Desire, and Damnation

An odd book, and not a completely successful one. I cannot deny it a wealth of ironic observation and an elegant style, but I believe the author indulges his hobbies and obsessions--his Orientalism, his ephebophilia, his loathing of his mother and other termagants--to an extent that distorts this ta......more

Caliph Vathek the ruler in fabulous Baghdad, and its extended Empire, the Middle East and Africa...Grandson of the illustrious Harun al -Rashid, but not his equal to say the least, from the Arabian Nights fame (this is fiction, folks , with only a very vague resemblance to a real man, so don't bothe......more

I seem to have embarked on a re-exploration of the gothic genre. After finishing a re-read of The Castle Of Otranto by Horace Walpole a couple of days back, Last night I finished Vathek by William Beckford, a novel which also stems from the trend for Orientalist fiction which played upon the exotici......more