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William Beckford’s Vathek and the Uses of Oriental Re-enactment

Landry, Donna (2008) William Beckford’s Vathek and the Uses of Oriental Re-enactment. In: Makdisi, Saree and Nussbaum, Felicity, eds. The Arabian Nights in Historical Context: Between East and West. Oxford University Press, Oxford and New York, pp. 167-194. ISBN 978-0-19-955415-7. (doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199554157.003.0008) (The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:20503)

The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided.
Official URL:
https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199554157.0...

Abstract

William Beckford typifies the Englishman who wishes he were something else: an Oriental ruler of a type inspired by reading the *1001 Nights* and Ottoman and Safavid court poetry. His novel *Vathek* is an attempt to re-enact his previous *Arabian Nights Entertainments* re-enactment: his twenty-first birthday party celebrations at Fonthill. Even at his most private, Beckford writes from an Eastern repository of tropes, while at his most Oriental, he satirises English rural society, especially the hunting-mad set represented by his cousin Peter Beckford. Even the figure of the camel Alboufaki signifies both Eastern learning and English gentry folly, typifying the complexity of Beckford's literary achievement.

Item Type: Book section
DOI/Identification number: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199554157.003.0008
Subjects: P Language and Literature
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Arts and Humanities > School of English
Depositing User: Kate Smith
Date Deposited: 21 Jul 2009 10:36 UTC
Last Modified: 09 Mar 2023 11:31 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/20503 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

Landry, Donna.

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