Gothic horror

摘要

In 1825 William Beckford was called to the deathbed of the man who had built his extravagant and unique country house at Fonthill in Wiltshire. 'House' is too domestic a word, though. What Beckford had summoned into existence was Fonthill Abbey. This vast heap of wild gothic imagery had been designed by James Wyatt from 1796 onwards and had as its centrepiece an immense and unprecedented tower, 276 feet tall.