This is book is a translation from French of the original title Vathek (1786).
The following English translations are known:
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1786 | Vathek | 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) |
| 1786 | An Arabian Tale, From an Unpublished Manuscript: With Notes Critical and Explanatory | Translated by Samuel Henley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. |
| 1816 | Vathek | None |
| 1834 | Vathek: An Arabian Tale | None |
| 1868 | The History of the Caliph Vathek | None |
| 1881 | The History of the Caliph Vathek | None |
| 2013 | Vathek: An Arabian Tale | translated by an unknown hand |
| 2020 | Vathek, an Arabian Tale | None |
In addition to its stand-alone volume, this title was published in the follow books. It can be rated independently of any volumes containing it.
