William Beckford

Kenneth W. Graham (University of Guelph)
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William Thomas Beckford of Fonthill is best known as the author of the oriental tale,

Vathek.

He was also a writer and performer of music, a collector of books, decorative arts, Old Masters, and contemporary painters, and the designer (both exterior and interior) of the magnificent Gothic mansion, Fonthill Abbey, in Wiltshire and of Monserrate near Sintra in Portugal.

Beckford was born in 1760 to great but conflicting expectations. His father was a prominent Whig and Lord Mayor of London. His godfather was the Earl of Chatham, William Pitt, the great prime minister who won for Great Britain a huge overseas empire in the Treaty of Paris, 1763. His mother, née Maria Hamilton, was granddaughter of the sixth Earl of Abercorn . His expectations included princely wealth, aristocratic

2129 words

Citation: Graham, Kenneth W.. "William Beckford". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 25 November 2004 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=5108, accessed 19 March 2024.]

5108 William Beckford 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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