Vathek; with, The Episodes of Vathek

About “Vathek; with, The Episodes of Vathek”

William Beckford's Vathek is a significant work of eighteenth-century Orientalism and the Gothic novel. His later work, The Episodes of Vathek, shares the same irreverent and decadent style. A new edition combines Vathek with The Episodes of Vathek, including a newly discovered early version of the first episode, which focuses on male-male love and was previously unpublished. This edition also includes the version Beckford later re-wrote as a heterosexual narrative. Based on the 1823 edition, the last one edited by Beckford, it presents The Episodes in the order he intended and includes his final corrections.