Project Gutenberg 2010-12-27 Public domain in the USA. 731 Johnson, Samuel 1709 1784 Beckford, William 1760 1844 Marlow, Harriet, Lady Jenks, Jacquetta Agneta Mariana Beckford, John Walpole, Horace 1717 1797 Orford, Horace Walpole, Earl of Walpole, Horatio Marshall, William Muralto, Onuphrio Rhys, Ernest 1859 1946 Shorter Novels, Eighteenth Century The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia; The Castle of Otranto, a Gothic Story; Vathek, an Arabian Tale Produced by Suzanne Lybarger, Brian Janes, S.D., and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net "Shorter Novels, Eighteenth Century" by Johnson, Beckford, and Walpole is a collection of classic novels written during the later years of the eighteenth century. The volume includes notable works like Johnson’s "Rasselas", Walpole’s "The Castle of Otranto", and Beckford’s "Vathek", showcasing a mixture of philosophical reflection, Gothic terror, and Oriental fantasy. The collection illustrates a key transitional period in literature, where traditional themes began to give way to the emotions and imaginations celebrated in Romantic literature. The opening of the book introduces "Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia", which centers on Prince Rasselas, who lives in a paradise-like valley but grows discontented with the pleasures and comforts of his life. Despite the lavish lifestyle provided to him and his siblings, Rasselas has an insatiable yearning to explore the world outside, leading him to reflect on the nature of happiness. His growing melancholy sets the stage for his eventual quest for meaning, as he grapples with existential questions about fulfillment and the human condition. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 64.1 (8th & 9th grade). Neither easy nor difficult to read. en English fiction -- 18th century PR Text Category: Novels Category: Classics of Literature Category: British Literature 858171 2025-08-14T08:03:50.148001 text/html 864156 2010-12-27T16:51:22 text/html 456200 2025-08-14T08:04:03.552000 application/epub+zip 461592 2025-08-14T08:03:54.229021 application/epub+zip 414700 2025-08-14T08:03:52.494988 application/epub+zip 774507 2025-08-14T08:04:10.360954 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 726392 2025-08-14T08:04:01.998975 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 590593 2022-09-16T04:57:53.660756 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 777660 2025-08-14T08:03:48.831096 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 787065 2010-12-27T16:51:18 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 777734 2010-12-27T16:51:56 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 777734 2010-12-27T16:51:56 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 24544 2025-08-14T08:04:10.531918 application/rdf+xml 16267 2025-08-14T08:03:53.045006 image/jpeg 3973 2025-08-14T08:03:52.761993 image/jpeg 298518 2010-12-27T16:53:36 application/octet-stream application/zip 297007 2010-12-27T16:53:36 application/octet-stream application/zip 337378 2010-12-27T16:53:38 application/octet-stream application/zip 296873 2010-12-27T16:53:36 application/octet-stream application/zip 417680 2025-08-14T08:03:50.216073 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia en.wikipedia en.wikipedia en.wikipedia