Recollections of an Excursion

William Beckford was an unhappy man riddled by anxiety and dominated by the shadow of his father. But he was also a man of taste who collected pictures which are now part of our national heritage, who planned the most beautiful gardens in England and who built what Sir Kenneth Clark called "by far the most exciting building of its time" the gothic abbey at Fonthill. This is the last book Beckford published in his lifetime (in 1835), and the first edition to include his original diary made during his celebrated trip in 1794. This, and other evidence previously unpublished, show that the book was not based on a draft contemporary with that tour, but was the sudden production of an old man of 74 - an ebullient Peter Pan. Critics have afrom time to time spoken highly of it, notably Rose Macaulay who found it "almost without a rival". The editor discusses among other things Beckford's literary methods; gives the historical background; comments on some of the striking passages, such as the nightmare of the poor mad Queen of Portugal; and shows Beckford's enduring love of that country. The editor spent many years on the Beckford papers, owned by the Duke of Hamilton. From these he produced Beckford's unpublished "Journal in Portugal and Spain"; his hitherto unknown confidential letters in Italian under the title "Life at Fonthill"; and a biographical study, "England's Wealthiest Son". He also discovered the complete 1794 journal of Beckford's journey.