Vathek: With the Episodes of Vather

William Beckford's Vathek is a touchstone of eighteenth-century Orientalism and of the Gothic novel. Beckford's later work, The Episodes of Vathek, shares Vathek's irreverent and decadent style, and an edition that unites the two has long been overdue. The Broadview edition includes a newly discovered early version of the first episode, never before in print, that centres on male-male love, as well as the previously published version that was re-written by Beckford as a heterosexual narrative. This edition based on that of 1823—the last on edited by the author—also introduces The Episodes in the order Beckford planned, and incorporates his final corrections.

Kenneth W Graham teaches at the University of Guelph. He has written widely on eighteenth-century literature. His books include Gothic Fictions: Prohibition/Transgression, and "Vathek" and the Escape from Time: Bicentenary Revalutations.