A story with elaborate imagery, sardonic humour and an unforgettable gallery of grotesques - which describes a journey to the halls of Eblis, or Hell, in the pursuit of knowledge. It exhibits the author's exuberant day-dreaming imagination as well as the deeply emotional, aesthetic themes and detailed physical descriptions of his writing.

An enthralling work of Gothic fiction, modelled on the Arabian Nights

This collection of writings features the complete text of William Beckford's best-known book, Vathek. Beckford's talent for satire emerges in selections from Biographical Memoirs, a collection of essays on imaginary artists, and the novel Azemia, a scathing attack on British politics.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.