This collection of over 350 letters written by William Beckford to his bookseller George Clarke constitutes the most complete documentary record of his collecting habits and literary pursuits in existence. The letters are also significant as historical documents that guide the reader into the golden age of the London book trade in the 1830s.
Vilified publicly as a pedophile, William Beckford sought refuge in his Fonthill estate where he amassed works of art fit for a king. He resided initially in a magnificent house called Fonthill Splendens, but then ordered it demolished to fund a work of art on a grand scale called Fonthill Abbey. Four public sales in 1801 and 1807 provided accessibility to Splendens and thousands came to examine the opulent offerings. Then the new structure with its extravagant Gothic interior, extraordinary possessions and scenic landscaping effects began to draw obsessive attention. This interest reached a pitch in 1822 when the entire estate was offered for sale, developing into a 'Fonthill fever' with over 7,000 people gravitating to Beckford's 'Holy Sepulchre'. The book examines Beckford's building, landscaping and collecting habits that led to this remarkable public interest. It identifies, too, the anonymous author of a series of articles in the Morning Chronicle that provide the sights and sounds when the auctioneer raised his hammer to disperse the riches of Fonthill. The building collapsed in 1825, but contemporary drawings and engraved 'views' have continued to keep it alive as an indelible icon of the Romantic period.
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