Vathek
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Prime members: New to Audible?Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Vathek
Buy for $11.70
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Jonathan Keeble
-
By:
-
William Beckford
About this listen
Written in 1786, this Asian fantasy tells the story of a dissolute and debauched Caliph, Vathek. Having become obsessed with power and immortality, Vathek embarks on a journey to obtain supernatural powers, in pursuit of which he proves willing to renounce his religion and sacrifice both his children and his soul. We follow Vathek’s remarkable travels to the subterranean palace of Eblis, where his ultimate fate awaits him. Among the themes explored in Vathek are ambition, desire and the consequence of unbridled power.
The novel influenced several later writers, including Poe and Lovecraft, and is given an exhilarating reading here by Jonathan Keeble.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
Public Domain (P)2024 Naxos AudioBooks UK Ltd.Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Monk
- By: Matthew Lewis
- Narrated by: Nicholas Boulton, Georgina Sutton
- Length: 14 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 179
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 158
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 157
Father Ambrosio, the most pious and venerated monk in all of Madrid, is held as a paragon of virtue. But after 30 years of study and prayer, evil thoughts begin to permeate his mind. As two plots cleverly converge, torture, murder, incest, rape, poison, and magic prevail, sustained by an elegance in the writing of the 19-year-old Matthew Lewis.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
the Platonic Form of the Gothic novel!.org
- By Mao Dom on 11-15-18
By: Matthew Lewis
-
Manon Lescaut
- By: Abbé Prévost
- Narrated by: Justin Avoth, Sean Barrett
- Length: 7 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 1
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 1
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 1
‘The sweetness of her glance—or rather, my evil star already in its ascendant and drawing me to my ruin—did not allow me to hesitate for a moment...’ So begins the story of Manon Lescaut, a tale of passion and betrayal, of delinquency and misalliance, which moves from early 18th-century Paris—with its theatres, assemblies, and gaming-houses—via prison and deportation to a tragic denouement in the treeless wastes of Louisiana. It is one of the great love stories, and also one of the most enigmatic.
By: Abbé Prévost
-
The Birds
- And Other Stories
- By: Daphne du Maurier
- Narrated by: Michael Sinclair, Barbara Rosenblat, Katherine Kellgren, and others
- Length: 9 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 203
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 181
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 179
A classic of alienation and horror, The Birds was immortalized by Hitchcock in his celebrated film. The five other chilling stories in this collection echo a sense of dislocation and mock man's dominance over the natural world. The mountain paradise of "Monte Verità" promises immortality, but at a terrible price; a neglected wife haunts her husband in the form of an apple tree; a professional photographer steps out from behind the camera and into his subject's life.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
A good collection of short stories
- By Adeliese Baumann on 12-05-16
-
Reflections on the Revolution in France
- By: Edmund Burke
- Narrated by: Matt Addis
- Length: 10 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 21
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 17
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 16
Written in the form of a letter to a Frenchman, Edmund Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France is an impassioned attack on the French Revolution and its hasty destruction of the Church, the old elites, and the Crown. Burke tackles the new republic and its allegiance to principles such as liberty and equality, as well as its failure to recognize the complexities of human nature, society, and wisdom accumulated over time, contending that gradual change and adjustment is far better than immediate upheaval.
By: Edmund Burke
-
Journal of the Plague Year
- By: Daniel Defoe
- Narrated by: Andrew Cullum
- Length: 10 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 126
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 100
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 99
First published in March 1722, 57 years after the event that struck more than 100,000 people, Journal of the Plague Year is a compelling portrait of life during London's horrific bubonic plague. Through the eyes of H.F. (speculated to be Defoe's uncle, Henry Foe, from whose journals the book was supposedly adapted) we witness great grief, depravity and despair: crazed sufferers roam the streets, unearthly screams resound across the city, death carts dump their grisly loads into mass graves, and quackery and skulduggery feed on fear. But there is kindness and courage too, as mutual support and caring are upheld through the worst of days.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
The novel as journalism
- By Tad Davis on 12-22-18
By: Daniel Defoe
-
The Satyricon
- By: Petronius
- Narrated by: Nicholas Boulton
- Length: 6 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 58
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 48
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 48
Libidinous, licentious, salacious and very, very funny, The Satyricon is one of the most remarkable documents from ancient Rome. It tells the ribald story of Encolpius, a man of active and varied appetites (powered notably by his passion for his favourite lover, the handsome Giton), who plunges without inhibition into the life of Roman pleasures: orgies of food, feasting, abundant sex and escapades. The kind of hedonism found occasionally in Roman mosaics is here brought to life.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
An impactful historical work of art.
- By Live.3 on 03-17-19
By: Petronius
-
The Monk
- By: Matthew Lewis
- Narrated by: Nicholas Boulton, Georgina Sutton
- Length: 14 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 179
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 158
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 157
Father Ambrosio, the most pious and venerated monk in all of Madrid, is held as a paragon of virtue. But after 30 years of study and prayer, evil thoughts begin to permeate his mind. As two plots cleverly converge, torture, murder, incest, rape, poison, and magic prevail, sustained by an elegance in the writing of the 19-year-old Matthew Lewis.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
the Platonic Form of the Gothic novel!.org
- By Mao Dom on 11-15-18
By: Matthew Lewis
-
Manon Lescaut
- By: Abbé Prévost
- Narrated by: Justin Avoth, Sean Barrett
- Length: 7 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 1
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 1
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 1
‘The sweetness of her glance—or rather, my evil star already in its ascendant and drawing me to my ruin—did not allow me to hesitate for a moment...’ So begins the story of Manon Lescaut, a tale of passion and betrayal, of delinquency and misalliance, which moves from early 18th-century Paris—with its theatres, assemblies, and gaming-houses—via prison and deportation to a tragic denouement in the treeless wastes of Louisiana. It is one of the great love stories, and also one of the most enigmatic.
By: Abbé Prévost
-
The Birds
- And Other Stories
- By: Daphne du Maurier
- Narrated by: Michael Sinclair, Barbara Rosenblat, Katherine Kellgren, and others
- Length: 9 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 203
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 181
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 179
A classic of alienation and horror, The Birds was immortalized by Hitchcock in his celebrated film. The five other chilling stories in this collection echo a sense of dislocation and mock man's dominance over the natural world. The mountain paradise of "Monte Verità" promises immortality, but at a terrible price; a neglected wife haunts her husband in the form of an apple tree; a professional photographer steps out from behind the camera and into his subject's life.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
A good collection of short stories
- By Adeliese Baumann on 12-05-16
-
Reflections on the Revolution in France
- By: Edmund Burke
- Narrated by: Matt Addis
- Length: 10 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 21
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 17
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 16
Written in the form of a letter to a Frenchman, Edmund Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France is an impassioned attack on the French Revolution and its hasty destruction of the Church, the old elites, and the Crown. Burke tackles the new republic and its allegiance to principles such as liberty and equality, as well as its failure to recognize the complexities of human nature, society, and wisdom accumulated over time, contending that gradual change and adjustment is far better than immediate upheaval.
By: Edmund Burke
-
Journal of the Plague Year
- By: Daniel Defoe
- Narrated by: Andrew Cullum
- Length: 10 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 126
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 100
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 99
First published in March 1722, 57 years after the event that struck more than 100,000 people, Journal of the Plague Year is a compelling portrait of life during London's horrific bubonic plague. Through the eyes of H.F. (speculated to be Defoe's uncle, Henry Foe, from whose journals the book was supposedly adapted) we witness great grief, depravity and despair: crazed sufferers roam the streets, unearthly screams resound across the city, death carts dump their grisly loads into mass graves, and quackery and skulduggery feed on fear. But there is kindness and courage too, as mutual support and caring are upheld through the worst of days.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
The novel as journalism
- By Tad Davis on 12-22-18
By: Daniel Defoe
-
The Satyricon
- By: Petronius
- Narrated by: Nicholas Boulton
- Length: 6 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 58
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 48
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 48
Libidinous, licentious, salacious and very, very funny, The Satyricon is one of the most remarkable documents from ancient Rome. It tells the ribald story of Encolpius, a man of active and varied appetites (powered notably by his passion for his favourite lover, the handsome Giton), who plunges without inhibition into the life of Roman pleasures: orgies of food, feasting, abundant sex and escapades. The kind of hedonism found occasionally in Roman mosaics is here brought to life.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
An impactful historical work of art.
- By Live.3 on 03-17-19
By: Petronius
-
The Water Margin
- Outlaws of the Marsh
- By: Shi Naian, J. H. Jackson - translator, Edwin Lowe - translator
- Narrated by: Jonathan Booth
- Length: 33 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 33
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 27
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 27
The Water Margin is one of the most popular classics of early Chinese literature. It tells the vigorous story of 108 characters who, falling foul of the established state authorities, are forced to become outlaws. They form a bandit community in Liangshan Marsh, becoming such a formidable force in their own right that they threaten the power of government itself.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Exciting! Each story entwined with one another!
- By Kananai on 04-03-24
By: Shi Naian, and others
-
Effi Briest
- By: Theodor Fontane
- Narrated by: Lucy Scott
- Length: 9 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 13
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 12
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 12
Often compared to Madame Bovary and Anna Karenina, Theodor Fontane's Effi Briest tells the poignant story of a passionate and spontaneous young woman who becomes trapped in a dull and restrictive upper-class existence. Married at the tender age of 17 to Geert von Innstetten, an ambitious nobleman and civil servant nearly 20 years her senior, unworldly Effi is whisked away to the quiet town of Kessin, on the Baltic coast of Prussia, where she is left to raise a daughter alone while her husband travels for work.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great perspective on a bygone era
- By Theodore A. Rosen on 11-29-22
By: Theodor Fontane
-
The Master of Ballantrae
- By: Robert Louis Stevenson
- Narrated by: David Rintoul
- Length: 9 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 18
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 15
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 15
Told by servant Ephraim Mackellar, The Master of Ballantrae is set at the time of the Jacobite rebellion of 1745 and portrays the Durie family. James abandons his ancestral home to support the Jacobites while his younger brother, Henry, loyal to the English king, remains. However, years later James, who had been supposed dead, returns to claim his inheritance, resulting in a feud between the brothers that shifts from the Scottish Highlands to the Wild West of America.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A Ripping Historical Yarn
- By John on 03-24-25
-
Dangerous Visions
- By: Harlan Ellison
- Narrated by: Tim Campbell, Simon Vance, Steven Jay Cohen, and others
- Length: 24 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 42
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 36
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 36
A landmark short story collection that put the more character-based New Wave science fiction on the map, Dangerous Visions won several prestigious awards and was nominated for many others. This now-classic anthology includes thirty-three stories by thirty-two award-winning authors, over half of whom have won multiple Hugo and Nebula Awards.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Pre-Star Trek pre-Star Wars brilliance!
- By Darrell James on 06-29-24
By: Harlan Ellison
-
On the Origin of Species
- By: Charles Darwin
- Narrated by: Peter Wickham
- Length: 21 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 353
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 298
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 294
Perhaps the most influential science book ever written, On the Origin of Species has continued to fascinate for more than a century after its initial publication. Its controversial theory that populations evolve and adapt through a process known as natural selection led to heated scientific, philosophical, and religious debate, revolutionizing every discipline in its wake. With its clear, concise, and surprisingly enjoyable prose, On the Origin of Species is both captivating and edifying.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Wonderful book - tough listen
- By Henry on 03-22-18
By: Charles Darwin
-
The Kill
- La Curée
- By: Émile Zola
- Narrated by: Leighton Pugh
- Length: 12 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 3
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 3
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 3
Against a backdrop of modernisation, extravagant luxury, political intrigue and sexual immorality, Saccard treats close relationships as money-making opportunities and loved ones as mere commodities. As one character puts it: ‘You see, everything is fine, as long as you make money from it.’
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
one of Zola's best
- By Nom de Guerre on 05-05-25
By: Émile Zola
-
The Castle of Otranto
- By: Horace Walpole
- Narrated by: Tony Jay
- Length: 3 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 464
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 389
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 388
On the day of his wedding, Conrad, heir to the house of Otranto, is killed under mysterious circumstances. His calculating father, Manfred, fears that his dynasty will now come to an end and determines to marry his son's bride himself, despite the fact he is already married. But a series of terrifying supernatural omens soon threaten this unlawful union, as the curse placed on Manfred's ancestor, who usurped the lawful Prince of Otranto, begins to unfold.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
As for literary history
- By Brian on 07-07-06
By: Horace Walpole
-
Music, Magic, Muses, and Madness
- The Tales of E. T. A. Hoffmann
- By: E. T. A. Hoffmann
- Narrated by: Gabrielle de Cuir, Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 8 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 1
-
Performance0 out of 5 stars 0
-
Story0 out of 5 stars 0
In this compilation from Skyboat Media, composers and artists, miners and soldiers, tinkerers and amateur psychologists must fend for themselves in the struggle for their own “ideal” wherein they may find either happiness and salvation, or tragedy and madness. Originally published in German from 1816-1818 and in English from 1885-1908.
-
New Rome
- The Empire in the East
- By: Paul Stephenson
- Narrated by: Peter Noble
- Length: 18 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 4
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 4
As modern empires rise and fall, ancient Rome becomes ever more significant. We yearn for Rome's power but fear Rome's ruin—will we turn out like the Romans, we wonder, or can we escape their fate? That question has obsessed centuries of historians and leaders, who have explored diverse political, religious, and economic forces to explain Roman decline. In New Rome, Paul Stephenson looks beyond traditional texts and well-known artifacts to offer a novel, scientifically minded interpretation of antiquity's end.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Full of fascinating details.
- By Amazon Customer on 02-14-24
By: Paul Stephenson
-
Germany, 1923
- Hyperinflation, Hitler's Pusch and Democracy in Crisis
- By: Volker Ullrich, Jefferson Chase - translator
- Narrated by: Christopher Douyard
- Length: 12 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 17
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 15
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 15
The great Austrian writer Stefan Zweig confided in his autobiography: “I have a pretty thorough knowledge of history, but never, to my recollection, has it produced such madness in such gigantic proportions.” He was referring to Germany in 1923, a “year of lunacy,” defined by hyperinflation, violence, a political system on the verge of collapse, the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party, and separatist movements threatening to rip apart the German nation. Bestselling author Volker Ullrich presents a riveting chronicle of one of the most difficult years any modern democracy has ever faced.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Interesting read about economics
- By molliet on 11-01-23
By: Volker Ullrich, and others
-
The Spirit of the Laws
- By: Charles de Secondat Baron de Montesquieu
- Narrated by: Martyn Swain
- Length: 23 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 34
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 29
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 29
From the moment of its publication in 1748, The Spirit of the Laws proved to be a controversial work provoking widespread interest. Within three years it had been translated into various European languages - and was swiftly added to the List of Prohibited Books by the Roman Catholic Church. It is a remarkable book, a potpourri of observations and comments ranging far and wide over the social activities of mankind and it exerted a great influence on political leaders in the following decades.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Truly Excellent Audiobook!
- By No to Statism on 09-09-19
-
The Lair of the White Worm
- By: Bram Stoker
- Narrated by: Matt Addis
- Length: 6 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 1
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 1
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 1
The Lair of the White Worm was published in 1911, shortly before Bram Stoker’s death. Set in rural England, the novel follows Adam Salton, recently returned from Australia, who encounters a mysterious series of events, all of which seem to be connected to the legend of the white worm
By: Bram Stoker