ISFDB banner

Title: Vathek

You are not logged in. If you create a free account and sign in, you will be able to customize what is displayed.

Title: Vathek Title Record # 2892553
Author: William Beckford
Date: 1786-00-00
Type: NOVEL
Series: Vathek
Series Number: 1
Language: French
Note: Originally composed and intended to be published in French. However, the novel was first published in an English translation in 1786. The two French editions of 1787 were translations of the the 1786 English translation. Beckford's original French manuscript was not published until 1815.
User Rating: 7.00 (1 vote) Including variants and translations: 6.00 (3 votes) Your vote: Not cast VOTE
Current Tags: Librivox (1), weird (1), Fantasy: The 100 Best Books (1), 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die (1) Add Tags

Other Titles

Variant Titles Translations
Year Title
1787ⓘTranslated by unknown hands from the first English translation of the original unpublished manuscript.
 Vathek [as by uncredited]
1787ⓘRevision of the Hignou edition. Translated by unknown hands
 Vathek: Conte Arabe [as by uncredited]
1815 Vathek [as by uncredited]
Year Language Title
1786ⓘTranslated by Samuel Henley Beckford arranged this English translation of the original French manuscript, but its publication in 1786, without any corrections by him and crediting no author, was unauthorized. The French manuscript was not published, and was lost. The first two French-language editions, both dated 1787, were re-translations from this one. Beckford revised the work in English at least twice, for 1816 and 1823 editions. --based on the Beckford biographical entry by John Clute [JC], Encyclopedia of Fantasy (1997), with undated Addenda (linked above), and the English Wikipedia novel article [EN] JC and EN do not make clear whether Beckford participated in a 1786/87 or any later French-language reconstruction. Nor whether this version has been the basis for any later translations. JC notes a new English translation in 1929.
 English An Arabian Tale, From an Unpublished Manuscript: With Notes Critical and Explanatory [as by uncredited]
1786ⓘWritten in French (by an Englishman) circa 1782. Translated by Samuel Henley into English and published without authorship in 1786. The 1816 editions were the first authorized (although published anonymously), and includes many corrections and revisions to the 1786 translation. See also the 1786 variant, below. The 1929 edition is a 'new translation by Herbert B. Grimsditch, expanded with "Episodes of Vathek", as Vathek, with The Episodes of Vathek, 2 volumes'. --John Clute, undated "Addenda" to the Beckford biographical entry in SFE: Encyclopedia of Fantasy (1997)
 English Vathek
1816 English Vathek [as by uncredited]
1834 English Vathek: An Arabian Tale
1868 English The History of the Caliph Vathek [as by William Beckford, Esq.]
1881 English The History of the Caliph Vathek
1907ⓘTranslated by Franz Blei
 German Vathek
1921ⓘFeatures a 'free' translation. Translated by Karl Toth
 German Vathek
1924ⓘTranslated by Hans Schiebelhuth
 German Vathek
1987ⓘTranslated by Raluca Dana Cotruță
 Romanian Vathek
2013ⓘ Translated by an unknown hand
 English Vathek: An Arabian Tale [as by William Beckford, Esq.]
2020 English Vathek, an Arabian Tale

Publications

Not displaying variants or translations • Display all variants and translations • Do not display translations

Reviews

Copyright © 1995-2022 Al von Ruff and the ISFDB team
ISFDB Engine - Version 4.00 (2006-04-24)