Vathek. In 3 volumes
199.99 €
The only thing available 1
The first complete collection in Russian of Eastern stories and fairy tales by one of the most original English writers, William Beckford (1760–1844), previously known to Russian readers only for his variation on the Faust theme, "Batek," translated by B.K. Zaitsev in 1911 and republished in 1967 in the "Literary Monuments" series, after which it has been reprinted many times.
Having read the tales of "One Thousand and One Nights" in French in his youth, Beckford became so passionately captivated by them that he took up learning Arabic and began first translating these tales, creatively reworking them, and then composing—most often in French—fairy tales in an Eastern style. At the same time, the young writer didn't imitate what he read, but rather reinterpreted traditional narratives or created his own original plots and characters.
It's not always easy to pinpoint the genre of Beckford's works: Eastern folklore and fairy tale motifs are intertwined with elements of chivalric, Gothic, and Bildungsroman romances; expressionistic sketches, elements of horror, fantasy, and the grotesque are also present; and the narrative often devolves into parodies of familiar genres. Egypt, the Middle East, Arabia, Persia, Turkey, Mesopotamia, India, China, and 17th-century Spain—this is an incomplete list of the exotic settings featured in Beckford's Eastern-themed works, written between the ages of 15 and 23.
Having read the tales of "One Thousand and One Nights" in French in his youth, Beckford became so passionately captivated by them that he took up learning Arabic and began first translating these tales, creatively reworking them, and then composing—most often in French—fairy tales in an Eastern style. At the same time, the young writer didn't imitate what he read, but rather reinterpreted traditional narratives or created his own original plots and characters.
It's not always easy to pinpoint the genre of Beckford's works: Eastern folklore and fairy tale motifs are intertwined with elements of chivalric, Gothic, and Bildungsroman romances; expressionistic sketches, elements of horror, fantasy, and the grotesque are also present; and the narrative often devolves into parodies of familiar genres. Egypt, the Middle East, Arabia, Persia, Turkey, Mesopotamia, India, China, and 17th-century Spain—this is an incomplete list of the exotic settings featured in Beckford's Eastern-themed works, written between the ages of 15 and 23.
See also:
- All books by the publisher
- All books by the author
- All books in the series Monuments of world literature