The Author in the Novel: Creating Beckford in Vathek
R.B. Gill, Elon University
Volume 15, no. 2, January 2003
©McMaster University, 2015. All articles published on the Eighteenth-Century Fiction website are protected by copyright held by Eighteenth-Century Fiction, a journal published by the Faculty of Humanities at McMaster University.
ABSTRACT
According to David Hume, “The mind is a kind of theatre where several perceptions successively make their appearance; pass, re-pass, glide away, and mingle in an infinite variety of postures and situations.” Hume’s well-known account of personal identity aptly describes William Beckford — petulant heir to great wealth, a member of Parliament, connoisseur, architectural dilettante, fugitive from sexual scandal, and author of Vathek, one of the most enjoyable and intriguing of the eighteenth-century Oriental tales. Across the pages of Vathek and of Beckford’s whole life pass and mingle the successive actors of his disjointed identity.
Other ECF articles on the topic of “William Beckford” include:
The Architectural Design of Beckford’s Vathek
by SANDRO JUNG (ECF 24.2, Winter 2011-12)
Vathek: le choix d’une écriture cursive et piquante
by CARMEN FERNANDEZ ALAMOUDI (ECF 15.1, October 2002)
Un Sourire déchiré: l’ironie dans le Vathek de Beckford
by CARMEN ALAMOUDI (ECF 8.3, April 1996)
©McMaster University, 2015. This copyright covers the exclusive rights to reproduce and distribute the article, including in electronic forms, reprints, translations, photographic reproductions, or similar. While reading for personal use is encouraged, Eighteenth-Century Fiction articles may not be reproduced, broadcast, published, or re-disseminated without the prior written permission of Eighteenth-Century Fiction at McMaster University. Republication, systematic reproduction, posting in electronic form, such as on a web site or in a searchable database, or other uses of this material is not allowed. The copyright in this website includes without limitation the text, computer code, artwork, photographs, images, music, audio, video, and audio-visual material on this website and is owned by McMaster University. ©McMaster University 2015.