Gothic

The History of Caliph Vathek

by William Beckford

William Beckford wrote Vathek in French in 1782, when he was twenty-one, and later claimed he had done it at one sitting of three days and two nights; it was first published in an English translation by Samuel Henley in 1786, without his leave. Its caliph trades his soul for the treasures of the pre-Adamite sultans and ends in the Hall of Eblis, where every heart burns. Beckford spent his fortune on Fonthill Abbey, whose great tower fell down.

The librarian

Read it in the Library After Dark Or read it as plain text

Reading time

About 2 hr 30 min

Where to find it

On the Gothic shelves

Edition

Project Gutenberg, eBook #2060. In the public domain in the United States.