# The History of Caliph Vathek

By William Beckford.

"The History of Caliph Vathek" by William Beckford is a Gothic novel composed in French beginning in 1782 and first published in English in 1786. The story follows Vathek, a depraved and tyrannical caliph with an unquenchable thirst for knowledge, who encounters a mysterious stranger promising magical treasures and access to forbidden power. Seduced by promises of ultimate knowledge and the keys to the Palace of Underground Fire, Vathek makes a dark pact that demands terrible sacrifices and leads him down a path of increasingly heinous acts, rejecting salvation at every turn. (Summary by Project Gutenberg, written by machine.)

- Language: English
- Author of introduction, etc.: Henry Morley
- Subjects: English fiction; Gothic fiction; Arab countries -- Fiction

[Read it](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/books/gutenberg/2060/read)
[Plain text](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/api/books/gutenberg/2060/text)

## Audiobooks of it

- [History of the Caliph Vathek](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/books/librivox/4737) by William Beckford (3 h 52 min, English)

From Project Gutenberg. Public domain in the United States.