Fonthill Recovered

Fonthill Recovered PDF Author: Caroline Dakers
Publisher: UCL Press
ISBN: 1787350452
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 430

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Book Description
Fonthill, in Wiltshire, is traditionally associated with the writer and collector William Beckford who built his Gothic fantasy house called Fonthill Abbey at the end of the eighteenth century. The collapse of the Abbey’s tower in 1825 transformed the name Fonthill into a symbol for overarching ambition and folly, a sublime ruin. Fonthill is, however, much more than the story of one man’s excesses. Beckford’s Abbey is only one of several important houses to be built on the estate since the early sixteenth century, all of them eventually consumed by fire or deliberately demolished, and all of them oddly forgotten by historians. Little now remains: a tower, a stable block, a kitchen range, some dressed stone, an indentation in a field. Fonthill Recovered draws on histories of art and architecture, politics and economics to explore the rich cultural history of this famous Wiltshire estate. The first half of the book traces the occupation of Fonthill from the Bronze Age to the twenty-first century. Some of the owners surpassed Beckford in terms of their wealth, their collections, their political power and even, in one case, their sexual misdemeanours. They include Charles I’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, and the richest commoner in the nineteenth century. The second half of the book consists of essays on specific topics, filling out such crucial areas as the complex history of the designed landscape, the sources of the Beckfords’ wealth and their collections, and one essay that features the most recent appearance of the Abbey in a video game.

Fonthill Recovered

Fonthill Recovered PDF Author: Caroline Dakers
Publisher: UCL Press
ISBN: 1787350452
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 430

Get Book Here

Book Description
Fonthill, in Wiltshire, is traditionally associated with the writer and collector William Beckford who built his Gothic fantasy house called Fonthill Abbey at the end of the eighteenth century. The collapse of the Abbey’s tower in 1825 transformed the name Fonthill into a symbol for overarching ambition and folly, a sublime ruin. Fonthill is, however, much more than the story of one man’s excesses. Beckford’s Abbey is only one of several important houses to be built on the estate since the early sixteenth century, all of them eventually consumed by fire or deliberately demolished, and all of them oddly forgotten by historians. Little now remains: a tower, a stable block, a kitchen range, some dressed stone, an indentation in a field. Fonthill Recovered draws on histories of art and architecture, politics and economics to explore the rich cultural history of this famous Wiltshire estate. The first half of the book traces the occupation of Fonthill from the Bronze Age to the twenty-first century. Some of the owners surpassed Beckford in terms of their wealth, their collections, their political power and even, in one case, their sexual misdemeanours. They include Charles I’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, and the richest commoner in the nineteenth century. The second half of the book consists of essays on specific topics, filling out such crucial areas as the complex history of the designed landscape, the sources of the Beckfords’ wealth and their collections, and one essay that features the most recent appearance of the Abbey in a video game.

Beckford of Fonthill

Beckford of Fonthill PDF Author: Brian Fothergill
Publisher: Nonsuch Publishing, Limited
ISBN: 9781845880859
Category : Authors, English
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Beckford of Fonthill

Vathek: an Arabian tale. (Memoir. By William North.-The Amber Witch ... Edited ... by W. Meinhold ... Translated from the German by E. A. Friedländer.)

Vathek: an Arabian tale. (Memoir. By William North.-The Amber Witch ... Edited ... by W. Meinhold ... Translated from the German by E. A. Friedländer.) PDF Author: William Beckford
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 160

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Book Description


Dreams, Waking Thoughts, and Incidents

Dreams, Waking Thoughts, and Incidents PDF Author: William Beckford
Publisher: DigiCat
ISBN:
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 216

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Book Description
DigiCat Publishing presents to you this special edition of "Dreams, Waking Thoughts, and Incidents" by William Beckford. DigiCat Publishing considers every written word to be a legacy of humankind. Every DigiCat book has been carefully reproduced for republishing in a new modern format. The books are available in print, as well as ebooks. DigiCat hopes you will treat this work with the acknowledgment and passion it deserves as a classic of world literature.

The Life and Letters of William Beckford of Fonthill

The Life and Letters of William Beckford of Fonthill PDF Author: Lewis Melville
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Authors, English
Languages : en
Pages : 442

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Book Description


Memoirs of William Beckford of Fonthill

Memoirs of William Beckford of Fonthill PDF Author: Cyrus Redding
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Authors, English
Languages : en
Pages : 418

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Book Description


Delineations of Fonthill and Its Abbey

Delineations of Fonthill and Its Abbey PDF Author: John Rutter
Publisher: Legare Street Press
ISBN: 9781015524682
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

The Life and Letters of William Beckford of Fonthill

The Life and Letters of William Beckford of Fonthill PDF Author: Lewis Saul Benjamin
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Beckford, William, 1759-1844
Languages : en
Pages : 442

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Book Description


Graphical and Literary Illustrations of Fonthill Abbey, Wiltshire;

Graphical and Literary Illustrations of Fonthill Abbey, Wiltshire; PDF Author: John Britton
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 112

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Book Description


Vathek and Other Stories

Vathek and Other Stories PDF Author: Malcolm Jack
Publisher: Penguin UK
ISBN: 0141960140
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 783

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Book Description
Beckford's Gothic novel Vathek, an Arabian tale, was originally written in French when the author was twenty-one. Published in English in 1786, it was one of the most successful of the oriental tales then in fashion. This edition makes available to a new generation of scholars and general readers, the originality of Beckford's ideas, and the excellence of his prose.