Tag Archives: William Beckford Vathek

service before show

The travails and perils of finding a home. In the case of the Duke of Wellington, it took on palatial magnitude. Poor chap. All he really wanted was a little place in the country to relax and hunt. But to … Continue reading

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damascus road diversion

We know that Bashar Assad has a professorial verbal style, has a tendency to become defensive and stubborn, and is dull, tedious and violent. And we know that regime change is in the air, if not exactly planned, then not … Continue reading

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omar the tent faker

How to escape the classic and enduring, reinforced Orientalist trappings, the colonialist “other” that keeps resurfacing in reinforced, ingenious and more invigorated fashion. Is this part of the running of the gauntlet, the typical immigrant cycle as invoked by Canadian … Continue reading

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ABODES OF DESPAIR

Physically, perhaps emotionally, Matthew Lewis somehow never quite grew up. Small and neat, with pallid, projecting eyes that reminded Sir Walter Scott of those of an insect, he always retained his fragile, boyish air. He was, moreover, so affectionate and … Continue reading

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IN THE CLUTCHES OF THE NETHER REACHES

Fate sits on these dark battlements, and frowns, And, as the portals open to receive me, Her voice, in sullen echoes through the courts, Tells of a nameless deed. ( Anne Radcliffe ) Horace Walpole set a pattern with his … Continue reading

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STRAWBERRY HILLS FOREVER

The moon stood still on Strawberry Hill. Through dark and fetid dungeon passages, past amorous phantoms and shrieking monks, the Gothic novel led its trembling readers to a creaking door. What lay behind? Some would say the subconscious of a … Continue reading

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