Vathek (Barnes & Noble Digital Library)

This 1786 Gothic extravaganza, originally published anonymously, concerns the wicked Caliph Vathek. Vathek is addicted to power, pleasure, and, like Faust, knowledge.  Like Faust, too, his pursuit of knowledge, via supernatural means, leads him not to the exalted heights he desires but instead to the torments of hell.