William Beckford:
Recollections of an Excursion to the
Monasteries of Alcobaça and Batalha (1835)
In 1835, Beckford published his last work, the travelogue Recollections
of an Excursion to the Monasteries of Alcobaça and Batalha.
As the Advertisement proclaimed somewhat enigmatically, the book was
an expansion of some slight notes on an excursion undertaken in 1794.
Often
considered Beckford's best work beside Vathek, the Recollections
is certainly Beckford's most polished piece of writing, displaying
a mild wit and an array of colorful anecdotes that highlight a process
of fictionalisation of fact which is integral to Beckford's writings
considered as a whole. The entire work was composed in Bath, fourty
years and many hundred of miles from the places described within it:
the serene settings of Lansdown Crescent and Lansdown Tower (depicted
on the left), and the "expansion of memory", were the creative
framework of its conception.
Please
use the chapter links below to continue on to this online edition
of
the Recollections. As this book has been scanned using OCR,
errors have no doubt survived; the edition should be used as a rough
study-aid
only and the printed editions consulted whenever a quotation is needed.
Please e-mail the keeper of the website regarding any errors, small
or large, at this
e-mail address.
The Editor would also like to thank Stephanie Mikes for valued help
with the proof-reading of this edition.
Italics
have not been retained in this online edition. The original pagination
is provided within square brackets and the Notes are found after the
Twelfth Day.