Vathek (Haunted Library of Horror Classics)

by William Beckford, Joe Lansdale (Introduction), Leslie S. Klinger (Editor), Eric J. Guignard (Editor)

Overview

A chilling addition to the Haunted Library of Horror Classics.

When you have all you could ever want—power, wealth, influence, status—what's left to wish for?

First published in 1786, William Beckford's classic tale combines the lush setting of The Arabian Nights with a gothic nightmare. Vathek, the fierce ninth caliph of the Abassides, has the world at his feet. Nothing is beyond his grasp, until a hideous stranger sells him glowing swords with letters on them that cannot be translated even by experts—because the letters keep changing as if by magic!

Obsessed with obtaining the stranger's knowledge, Vathek undertakes an increasingly horrific search as he ventures into the underworld, meeting demons and witches. Will anything be enough to turn him from his foolish and terrifying quest? Or will the lust for power prove too strong to resist?

Featuring an introduction by acclaimed writer Joe R. Lansdale, the Haunted Library of Horror Classics is proud to present this classic gothic horror novel.

A timeless exploration of power, greed, and often elusive redemption, this shining example of literary occult horror poses the question: are the answers to ancient secrets worth your soul?

• Perfect for fans of Edgar Allan Poe and Bram Stoker
• For readers who enjoy classical literature and horror novels
• Collect all of the Haunted Library of Horror Classics

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781492699743
Publisher:	Sourcebooks
Publication date:	08/18/2020
Series:	Haunted Library of Horror Classics Series
Pages:	176
Sales rank:	375,906
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.44(d)

About the Author

LESLIE S. KLINGER is the two-time Edgar® winning editor of New Annotated Sherlock Holmes and Classic American Crime Fiction of the 1920s. He has also edited two anthologies of classic mysteries and, with Laurie R. King, five anthologies of stories inspired by the Sherlock Holmes Canon. Klinger is the series editor of Library of Congress Crime Classics, a partnership of the Library of Congress and Poisoned Pen Press/Sourcebooks. He is a former Chapter President of the SoCal Chapter of the Mystery Writers of America and lives in Malibu, California.

What People are Saying About This

H. P. Lovecraft

Vathek marches onward with a phantasmagoric pomp in which the laughter is that of skeletons feasting under arabesque domes. The descriptions are triumphs of weird coloring which raise the book to a permanent place in English letters.

Editorial Reviews

06/01/2020

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. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

"This ornate, orientalist work of supernatural horror from Beckford (1759–1840) is a fever dream for the senses." — Publishers Weekly

"a berserk Orientalist fantasy that’s the best-known work of Beckford" — Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

2020-06-03
Poisoned Pen kicks off its Haunted Library of Horror Classics with a berserk Orientalist fantasy that’s the best-known work of Beckford (1760-1844).

Vathek, Caliph of the Abassides, is a prince seriously addicted to gambling, feasting, and fits of rage. A visit from a stranger from India who renders him ill and then heals him opens his eyes to the possibilities of further decadence beyond the five palaces he’s already dedicated to the delights of the senses. But the stranger is actually a Giaour—that is, an unbeliever—in the service of Eblis, the monarch of hell, whose goal is to tempt Vathek to damnation by getting him to break more and more taboos. It’s a project in which his unwitting target participates enthusiastically. He renounces the teachings of Islam, sacrifices 50 innocent children to death, and agrees to worship the Giaour on the strength of the Giaour’s promise to bring him to “the palace of subterraneous fire” where Soliman Ben Daoud has stored the talismans that will allow him to rule the world. His attempts to steal the seductive Nouronihar from Gulchenrouz, the cousin to whom she’s been promised, are so persistent that Nouronihar’s father, the emir Fakreddin, is driven to drug both lovers so they’ll appear to have died—a plan that falls through despite Fakreddin’s best efforts. One of Mahomet’s Genii asks permission to approach Vathek in the hope of changing his mind before it’s too late, but it’s too late, and he’s condemned to the eternal fires.

A series of overblown set pieces waiting for Cecil B. DeMille or Industrial Light and Magic to bring them to life.

Kirkus Reviews