An Arabian tale
by William Beckford
1786
Ratist Community Rating
—/ 10
No reviews yet
Your Score Estimate
~?/ 10
Rate a few books to unlock your estimate
Community breakdown
Story
—
Writing & Style
—
Emotive Effect
—
Characters & Voice
—
Pure Entertainment
—
Bars show the community-aggregated score per category. Rate this book to contribute.
Vathek is one of the earliest and most influential Gothic novels. Its hero is the Caliph Vathek who renounces Islam in a hedonistic quest for supernatural powers, which leads to his downfall. Beckford's genius was in marrying Orientalism with the Gothic, both sources of fascination and delight to reading audiences of the time.