William Beckford, who was fluent in seven languages and schooled in philosophy and law, who claimed to have been taught piano by Mozart but was more famous for his singing, may perhaps be best known for his career as a Gothic fabulist. However, his spectacular hedonism and disregard for convention led to his epic fall from grace in a homosexual scandal. Following his time in luxurious exile in Europe, he returned to England as an eccentric aesthete who amassed a great library in the sprawling grandeur of Fonthill Abbey. Beckford of Fonthill is Brian Fothergill"s account of a sensational life, a history of the celebrated and vilified "Fool of Fonthill."