William beckfords acquisition of the estate initiated a period of nearly 60 years of absentee ownership, first by beckford, until his death in 1770, and then by his son william beckford, owner from 1771 to 1821. Vathek alternatively titled vathek, an arabian tale or the history of the caliph vathek is a gothic novel written by william beckford. It was composed in french beginning in 1782, and then translated into english by reverend samuel henley in which form it was first published in 1786 without beckford s name as an arabian tale, from an unpublished manuscript, claiming to be translated directly. An orientalist perspective on the gothic vathek world. Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. Beckford was born in london and at an early age inherited a huge fortune and the fonthill estate in wiltshire, england, apart from several sugar plantations in jamaica. William beckford acquired drax hall estate in 1722 from samuel reynolds, charles draxs brotherinlaw. William iv, william iv 17651837, king of great britain and ireland 18301837 and king of hanover 18301837. He was, and is, often referred to as alderman beckford to distinguish him from his son. It is the later the episodes of vathek, three related gothic short stories. His vast wealth came largely from his plantations in jamaica and the large numbers of slaves working on these plantations. Descargar vathek william beckford en pdf libros geniales. Description and travel, fiction, inheritance and succession, classic. Just dont buy this if you want to read the story of vathek himself.
Vathek is considered a gothic novel, but there it little gothic about it. Samuel henley, who published it anonymously, claiming in the preface that the novel was his own translated from an arabic original. Unfortunately his erratic and strange behavior often w. There are no churches or castles, and the maiden does not run from the caliph for long. Any suggestions or ideas should be directed to the keeper of the website. Vathek, despite its age, shows itself to be quite easy to fully understand. George hamilton, second surviving son of james, 6th earl of abercorn. Its hero is the caliph vathek who renounces islam in a hedonistic quest for supernatural powers, which leads to his downfall. William beckford baptised 19 december 1709 21 june 1770 was a wellknown political figure in 18thcentury london, who twice held the office of lord mayor of london 1762 and 1769. However, there are a great many supernatural elements taken from arab mythology, at least as they were understood by william beckford. William thomas beckford 1 october 1760 2 may 1844 was an english novelist, a profligate and consummately knowledgeable art collector and patron of works of decorative art, a critic, travel writer and sometime politician, reputed at one stage in his life to be the richest commoner in england. Considered a masterpiece of bizarre invention and sustained fantasy, vathek was written in french in 1782 and was translated into english by the authors friend the rev. Beckfords genius was in marrying orientalism with the gothic, both sources of fascination and delight to reading audiences of the time.
A william beckford reader penguin classics malcolm jack. It was composed in french beginning in 1782, and then translated into english by reverend samuel henley in which form it was first published in 1786 without beckfords name as an arabian tale, from an unpublished manuscript, claiming to be translated directly. It is to be regretted, that a man of so remarkable a character, did not leave the world some record of a life offering points of interest different from that of any of his contemporaries, from the. This site will collect and present editions and facsimiles of the works of william beckford.
Guillermo del toros cabinet of curiosities key concepts in media. William thomas beckford 1 october 1760 2 may 1844, usually known as william beckford, was an english novelist, a profligate and consummately knowledgeable art collector and patron of works of decorative art, a critic, travel writer and sometime politician, reputed at one stage in his life to be the richest commoner in england. Theirrulesbooksreadlikecontractsforcorporatemergersand. William beckfords vathek a call for reassessment by.
His parents were william beckford and maria hamilton, daughter of the hon. An examination of the connections between james morrison and alfred morrison, two collectors who once owned the fonthill estate, and their infamous predecessor, william beckford. William thomas beckford 17601844 wikitree free family. John millington john rutters a description of fonthill abbey and demesne, 1822. One of the strangest and most unforgettable eighteenthcentury novels, vatheks tale of the caliphs obsessive quest for knowledge, and his eternal damnation, is a wild gothic fantasy whose sensuous imagination and grotesque comedy have inspired writers from byron to lovecraft. This book is available for free download in a number of formats including epub, pdf, azw, mobi and more. Vathek gothic literature presentation by agustin rios vatheks tale of decadence and corruption, despite its supernatural elements, is as relevant as its ever been to our society. Oodman all biographers of william beckford, the author of vathek and creator of fonthill, agree in recounting, on beckfords own authority, that during the mozarts visit to england in i7645 beckford was given lessons in composition by the young wolfgang mozart. William beckford, author of the gothic novel vathek 1787, was an eccentric and enthusiastic collector of books and art. Vathek, william beckford, edited with an introduction by roger lonsdale, london. Vathek, gothic novel by william beckford, published in 1786. Although these images, at the head of this page, are facsimiles of the first three editions of vathek, published in 17861787, the first major edition of vathek to be published here is the 1823 edition. William thomas beckford 17601844 was an english nobleman, traveller and writer who wrote mainly in french. Download and read online for free vathek by william beckford.
The history of caliph vathek by william beckford free ebook. Beckford portrayed himself in his most wicked colours as the villainous vathek, the caliph who is satiated with sensual pleasures and builds a tower so he can penetrate the forbidden. Beckford found solace in his exile by writing additional episodes for his thinly veiled fantasyautobiography, the history of the caliph vathek, published in 1786. It was composed in french beginning in 1782, and then translated into english by reverend samuel henley in which form it was first. William beckfords vathek is a touchstone of eighteenthcentury orientalism and of the gothic novel. Mientras tanto, comparta este libro con sus amigos. Oxford university press, 197049, 187 pages vathek alternatively titled vathek, an arabian tale or the history of the caliph vathek is a gothic novel written by william beckford.
Project gutenberg has published an online version of vathek. Pdf experience, fantasy, and reality inwilliam beckfords vathek. William beckford article about william beckford by the. The broadview edition includes a newly discovered early version of the first episode, never before in print, that centres on malemale love, as.
The impor tance of these works has been overshadowed by the. Vathek by william beckford, free pdf, ebook global grey. Peter beckford, williams grandparents, are in the metropolitan museum figures 2, 3. A sensuous person, he builds five palaces, each devoted to the enjoyment of one of the five senses, and his fondness for. In one hand orientalism is making an other for wests purposes.
Vathek william beckford pdf descargar libros gratis. Vathek le libros descargar libros en pdf, epub y mobi. A wealthy dilettante, beckford had a great desire to ascend to the nobility. Beckford, william 1759 1844 william beckford, the author of vathek, was the only son of william beckford, lord mayor of london, and maria daughter of the hon. While not the book i actually expected, the stories were still entertaining and wellwritten.
Vathek is one of the earliest and most influential gothic novels. William henry was the third son of george iii john wilkes, wilkes, john london, england died december 26, 1797 london, england political leader, writer, publisher john wilkes was a london radical who favored william pitt the younger, the english statesman william pitt. West is rejecting the other because its farfetched, old, backward, simple, and savage. Angered by henleys betrayal, beckford revised the text and in 1816 published a new english edition of vathek. Aber er wird im grossen stil seinen landsitz fonthill vorher im palladian style zur fonthill abbey manchmal auch beckfords folly genannt hier, wie ganz oben, in einem bild. William thomas beckford september 29 1760 may 2 1844 was an english novelist, travel writer, artcollector and eccentric. The castle of otranto amazonclassics edition horace walpole. Famous for commissioning the construction of fonthill abbey, the most remarka.
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