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WILLIAMBECKFORD (1760-1844), English author, son of Alderman WilliamBeckford (1709-1770), was born on the 1st of October 1760.
Beckford erected another lofty structure on Lansdowne Hill, near Bath, where he continued to reside till his death in 1844.
Beckford's wealth and large expenditure, his position as a collector and patron of letters (he bought Gibbon's library at Lausanne), his literary industry, and his reputation as author of Vathek, make him an interesting figure in literary history.
Mrs Beckford had refused to allow her son to go to school, and she objected as strongly to send him to a university, regarding the temptations that would there be held out to a young man of enormous wealth as more than counterbalancing the advantages.
Beckford, however, was desirous to insert in "Vathek" the stories of the Princes whom his hero met in the Hall of Eblis, and he told Henley that on no account must the publication of the translation precede that of the original.
Beckford's interest in the various publications was very considerable, and his annoyance with adverse critics is only to be compared with the anger he displayed when rival collectors at auction sales snatched treasures from his grasp.
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