What do you think?
Rate this book
Byron's Letters and Journals #2
Byron's Letters and Journals, Volume II: 'Famous in My Time', 1810-1812
George Gordon Noel Byron, 6th Baron Byron of Rochdale (1788 1824) is one of the central writers of British Romanticism and his 'Byronic' hero the charming, dashing, rebellious outsider remains a literary archetype. But to what extent is this character a portrayal of the author himself? Byron was known for his extremely unconventional, eccentric character and his extravagant and flamboyant Lady Caroline Lamb, one of his lovers, famously described him as 'mad, bad and dangerous to know'. This two-volume work, compiled by his friend Thomas Moore, to whom Byron had given his manuscript memoirs (which he later burnt), was published in 1830. Volume 2 gives an account of Byron's life and work from 1816, including his travels abroad in Switzerland and Italy, where close friendships with Lady Blessington and Percy and Mary Shelley developed, to his early death in the Greek War of Independence in 1824.
- GenresRomanticismNonfiction
Paperback
First published January 1, 1973
1 person is currently reading
31 people want to read
About the author
Lord Byron
4,381 books2,090 followersGeorge Gordon Byron (invariably known as Lord Byron), later Noel, 6th Baron Byron of Rochdale FRS was a British poet and a leading figure in Romanticism. Amongst Byron's best-known works are the brief poems She Walks in Beauty, When We Two Parted, and So, we'll go no more a roving, in addition to the narrative poems Childe Harold's Pilgrimage and Don Juan. He is regarded as one of the greatest British poets and remains widely read and influential, both in the English-speaking world and beyond.
Byron's notabilty rests not only on his writings but also on his life, which featured upper-class living, numerous love affairs, debts, and separation. He was notably described by Lady Caroline Lamb as "mad, bad, and dangerous to know". Byron served as a regional leader of Italy's revolutionary organization, the Carbonari, in its struggle against Austria. He later travelled to fight against the Ottoman Empire in the Greek War of Independence, for which Greeks revere him as a national hero. He died from a fever contracted while in Messolonghi in Greece.
Byron's notabilty rests not only on his writings but also on his life, which featured upper-class living, numerous love affairs, debts, and separation. He was notably described by Lady Caroline Lamb as "mad, bad, and dangerous to know". Byron served as a regional leader of Italy's revolutionary organization, the Carbonari, in its struggle against Austria. He later travelled to fight against the Ottoman Empire in the Greek War of Independence, for which Greeks revere him as a national hero. He died from a fever contracted while in Messolonghi in Greece.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
April 18, 2018
How to rate these books, and who to recommend them to?
If you are a fan of Byron's poetry then this is fascinating; there are a great many letters to and from his editors and friends about his poetry, and you can watch him working on it as he writes to request this change of words or for that to be omitted and this added. If you're not interested in poetry editing and publishing then no doubt this will bore you to tears!
On the other hand, if you are interested in Byron as a person then his character shines through in his writing. What a mercurial fellow he is. So unlucky in love; of course it's completely his own doing. Like many men who are desperate to be loved and terrified to be vulnerable, he's a misogynist in general, saying I have no very high opinion of your sex, but when I do see a woman superior not only to all her own but to most of ours I worship her in proportion as I despire the rest. Pity the poor woman who is thus elevated, sooner or later he'll discover that she's only human and cast her down again.
Lady Melbourne comes into his life at this point, and it's wonderful see. No doubt part of the reason that Byron was able to esteem her so highly was that she was 60 years old and therefore his lust couldn't cloud his judgement.
He writes the most wonderful letters to her, candid, intimate, bitchy. His tumultous affair with Caroline Lamb took place during this time. There are only a few of his letters to Caroline (and of course none from Caroline to him) so you can't really get much of a feel of their relationship. However, his letters to Lady Melbourne are full of detail as she helps guide him through the impossible task of breaking up with Caroline.
What I really want now is a volume of letters between Byron and Lady Melbourne because I'm dying to see her responses to him. Reading these letters is like listening to half a telephone conversation. I go absolutely nutty when he says something along the lines of, 'I competely agree with your last - ' and I don't know what her last was!
In this respect, having google open as you read is invaluable. Some of the responses to Byron are online. The book includes his letters to Rushton and Susan Vaughan, his servant and his mistress who he suspected of having an affair together, but online you can find her letters to him which help complete the picture of what happened there.
Wikipedia is also very useful for looking up all the people Byron writes to, many of them are very interesting in their own right, and it helps give context to his letters. His friend Hodgson was a cleric, so it makes more sense that Byron is always teasing him with atheism.
He writes about his friend, Lady Oxford, but obviously he was too discrete to be explicit about the fact that they were having an affair in any letter. Once you've googled her then the way he talks about her makes a lot more sense - as well as his worry that Caroline Lamb is going to write to Lord Oxford!
And finally, if you are interested in the Regency period at all then this is wonderfully good fun. I especially enjoy the way the aristocracy are always junketing around the countryside staying at each others houses or various spa locations and then coming back to town to rent a house 'near St. James', of course!
If you are a fan of Byron's poetry then this is fascinating; there are a great many letters to and from his editors and friends about his poetry, and you can watch him working on it as he writes to request this change of words or for that to be omitted and this added. If you're not interested in poetry editing and publishing then no doubt this will bore you to tears!
On the other hand, if you are interested in Byron as a person then his character shines through in his writing. What a mercurial fellow he is. So unlucky in love; of course it's completely his own doing. Like many men who are desperate to be loved and terrified to be vulnerable, he's a misogynist in general, saying I have no very high opinion of your sex, but when I do see a woman superior not only to all her own but to most of ours I worship her in proportion as I despire the rest. Pity the poor woman who is thus elevated, sooner or later he'll discover that she's only human and cast her down again.
Lady Melbourne comes into his life at this point, and it's wonderful see. No doubt part of the reason that Byron was able to esteem her so highly was that she was 60 years old and therefore his lust couldn't cloud his judgement.
Lady Melbourne by George Romney - Christie's, LotFinder: entry 1368724, Public Domain, Link
He writes the most wonderful letters to her, candid, intimate, bitchy. His tumultous affair with Caroline Lamb took place during this time. There are only a few of his letters to Caroline (and of course none from Caroline to him) so you can't really get much of a feel of their relationship. However, his letters to Lady Melbourne are full of detail as she helps guide him through the impossible task of breaking up with Caroline.
What I really want now is a volume of letters between Byron and Lady Melbourne because I'm dying to see her responses to him. Reading these letters is like listening to half a telephone conversation. I go absolutely nutty when he says something along the lines of, 'I competely agree with your last - ' and I don't know what her last was!
In this respect, having google open as you read is invaluable. Some of the responses to Byron are online. The book includes his letters to Rushton and Susan Vaughan, his servant and his mistress who he suspected of having an affair together, but online you can find her letters to him which help complete the picture of what happened there.
Wikipedia is also very useful for looking up all the people Byron writes to, many of them are very interesting in their own right, and it helps give context to his letters. His friend Hodgson was a cleric, so it makes more sense that Byron is always teasing him with atheism.
He writes about his friend, Lady Oxford, but obviously he was too discrete to be explicit about the fact that they were having an affair in any letter. Once you've googled her then the way he talks about her makes a lot more sense - as well as his worry that Caroline Lamb is going to write to Lord Oxford!
And finally, if you are interested in the Regency period at all then this is wonderfully good fun. I especially enjoy the way the aristocracy are always junketing around the countryside staying at each others houses or various spa locations and then coming back to town to rent a house 'near St. James', of course!
Displaying 1 of 1 review