Vathek - Beckford, William

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Résumé :
Vathek (1786) is a novel by William Beckford. Inspired by his travels, Beckford wrote Vathek in French before supervising its translation into English by Reverend Samuel Henley. Recognized as an instrumental work in the popularization of Orientalist fiction, Vathek is an early Gothic novel that influenced such writers as Edgar Allan Poe, Lord Byron, Robert Southey, and H. P. Lovecraft. Born into a royal family, Vathek is appointed the ninth caliph of the Abassides as a boy. Spoiled and enabled at every turn, he grows to be an insufferably vain and vindictive ruler, unschooled in diplomacy and always quick to anger. When a deformed stranger arrives at his palace claiming to be a merchant from India, Vathek purchases a set of inscribed sabers. At dinner that night, the merchant insults the caliph with his silence and is sentenced to prison. The next morning, the merchant escapes, killing every guard in his path. As Vathek examines the glowing blades, he sees that the messages inscribed on them have changed-he has been cursed, and the only way to reverse his fate is to find the man he mistreated. Determined to remain his own master, he sets out for the mountain to clear his head, beginning a journey from which few return. Immersed in Islamic mythology, Vathek is a cautionary tale of power, faith, and desire that earned its author a reputation as a leading young artist with a gift for fantasy. This edition of William Beckford's Vathek is a classic of British literature reimagined for modern readers. Since our inception in 2020, Mint Editions has kept sustainability and innovation at the forefront of our mission. Each and every Mint Edition title gets a fresh, professionally typeset manuscript and a dazzling new cover, all while maintaining the integrity of the original book. With thousands of titles in our collection, we aim to spotlight diverse public domain works to help them find modern audiences. Mint Editions celebrates a breadth of literary works, curated from both canonical and overlooked classics from writers around the globe....

Biographie:
William Thomas Beckford (1760 - 1844) was an English novelist, a profligate and consummately knowledgeable art collector and patron of works of decorative art, a critic, travel writer and sometime politician, reputed at one stage in his life to be the richest commoner in England. His parents were William Beckford and Maria Hamilton, daughter of the Hon. George Hamilton. He was Member of Parliament for Wells from 1784 to 1790, for Hindon from 1790 to 1795 and 1806 to 1820.

Sommaire:
William Thomas Beckford (1760-1844) was an English novelist, art critic, planter, and politician. Born in London, he was the son of William Beckford and Maria Hamilton, daughter of the Hon. George Hamilton. Beckford gained prominence as one of England's wealthiest commoners during his time. In 1783, Beckford married Lady Margaret Gordon, the daughter of the fourth Earl of Aboyne. However, it was known that Beckford was bisexual, and following a scandal involving intercepted letters to William Courtenay (later the 9th Earl of Devon), Beckford chose self-exile from British society. He spent some time in Portugal in 1793, where he engaged in a relationship with a young male musician named Gregorio Franchi. Despite his accomplishments in literature, Beckford became equally famous for his eccentricities as a builder and collector. He undertook extravagant building projects, including the construction of Fonthill Abbey in Wiltshire and Beckford's Tower in Bath. However, these ventures led to the dissipation of his fortune, exacerbated by the loss of one of his Jamaican sugar plantations to James Beckford Wildman. At the time of his death, Beckford's capital had dwindled to a mere ?80,000, a fraction of his former wealth. While he left a lasting legacy through his literary works and architectural contributions, William Beckford's life was marked by both extravagance and controversy....