Friday, August 13, 2010

William Thomas Beckford

William Thomas Beckford

William Thomas Beckford

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 to be the richest commoner in England. He was Member of Parliament for Wells from 1784 to 1790, for Hindon from 1790 to 1795 and 1806 to 1820. He is remembered as the author of the Gothic novel Vathek, the builder of the remarkable lost Fonthill Abbey and Lansdown Tower ("Beckford's Tower"), Bath, and especially for his art collection.



[The History Of Caliph Vathek | Dreams Waking Thoughts And Incidents]


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