# Is "Vathek" by William Beckford a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Vathek by William Beckford (J. Johnson, London, 1786) is identified by: The true first appeared anonymously as An Arabian Tale, from an Unpublished Manuscript: with Notes Critical and Explanatory (London: printed for J. Rare inversion confirmed: Henley's English text (London, June 1786) precedes Beckford's French original — Lausanne, issued December 1786 with the title page dated 1787, followed by Paris, 1787.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The true first appeared anonymously as An Arabian Tale, from an Unpublished Manuscript: with Notes Critical and Explanatory (London: printed for J. Johnson, 1786) — the name Vathek appears nowhere on the title page, and the text purports to be translated from an Arabic manuscript with no mention of Beckford
- Octavo, [viii], 334 pp. including the terminal errata leaf, with translator Samuel Henley's commentary occupying roughly the final hundred pages
- Publisher imprint reads J. Johnson, London
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | William Beckford |
| Publisher | J. Johnson, London |
| Year | 1786 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The true first appeared anonymously as An Arabian Tale, from an Unpublished Manuscript: with Notes Critical and Explanatory (London… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
The true first appeared anonymously as An Arabian Tale, from an Unpublished Manuscript: with Notes Critical and Explanatory (London: printed for J. Johnson, 1786) — the name Vathek appears nowhere on the title page, and the text purports to be translated from an Arabic manuscript with no mention of Beckford. Octavo, [viii], 334 pp. including the terminal errata leaf, with translator Samuel Henley's commentary occupying roughly the final hundred pages.

## Is this the true first?
Rare inversion confirmed: Henley's English text (London, June 1786) precedes Beckford's French original — Lausanne, issued December 1786 with the title page dated 1787, followed by Paris, 1787. Both the London 1786 and Lausanne printings are collected; the J. Johnson London printing is the first edition in any language.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Trap: remainder sheets of the 1786 first were reissued in 1809 (W. Clarke, London) with a cancel title page reading 'A New Edition' — a copy whose title leaf carries that phrase is the 1809 reissue, not the 1786 first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Vathek* by William Beckford a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/vathek
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.