Byron

by Elizabeth Longford

Born the lame son of 'Mad Jack' Byron in 1788, brought up in the back streets of Aberdeen by an impoverished mother, plagued at an early age by the financial difficulties of his estate, George Gordon, 8th Lord Byron had few of the advantages of his class. Yet by the age of twenty-five he was a celebrated poet, lionised by London society, feted by all for his romantic good looks and rapier wit.

But enchantment quickly turned to outrage as the establishment learnt of Byron's private life - his alleged incest with his half-sister Augusta, his tempestuous affair with Caroline Lamb, his insensitive treatment of his blue-stocking wife Annabella Milbanke.

Hounded from London, Byron found refuge on the Continent, writing some of his best poetry in the Swiss mountains and among the decaying splendours of Venice. Until, at the age of thirty-six, he espoused the noble cause of Greek liberation to die among the swamps of Missolonghi - a romantic in life and death and one of England's greatest poets.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, History

237 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1976

About the author

Elizabeth (Harman) Pakenham, Countess of Longford, CBE was born on 30 August 1906. She was the daughter of Nathaniel Bishop Harman. She married Sir Francis Aungier Pakenham, 7th Earl of Longford, KG, PC, son of Thomas Pakenham, 5th Earl of Longford and Lady Mary Julia Child-Villiers, on 3 November 1931. She died on 23 October 2002.
Her married name became Pakenham.

The Elizabeth Longford Prize for Historical Biography was established in 2003 in memory of Elizabeth Longford (1906-2002), the British author, biographer and historian. The £5,000 prize is awarded annually for a historical biography published in the preceding year. The Elizabeth Longford Prize is sponsored by Flora Fraser and Peter Soros and administered by the Society of Authors.

Reviews

[Frtaberna · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a guy. One can admire him, pity him, understand him and disapprove of him all in equal measure. He lived a life as exciting as one can wish for while at the same time it would probably be mostly an unhappy existence. But he is the creator of the Byronic hero, he is an icon of contradiction and fascination, during his lifetime and after death.
I was surprised to see that he was such a principled and compassionate person given all that he did to the people close to him.
He was unapologetic about his love of freedom and republicanis, and got in trouble for being too outspoken about it. He was extremely generous to the Greek cause, to the lower class people, preferring to mingle among them and really willing to learn from them instead of the aristocracy that he belonged to. He also got in trouble for many, many morally repudiable actions that have shocked people ever since.
In any case, his was a life lived and very unique at that. He rolled through life, not fearing being tainted with all the ugly while elevated with all the sublime. His own lameness combined with his celebrated handsome looks were a physical manifestation of this constant in his life.

It’s a good read, Byron is interesting even if the writing can be dry at times. But it is well researched and you get all the facts, insights into the personalities of the people involved (The Shelleys are given almost the attention they deserve) and glimpses into just how a gifted poet Byron was. The verses and quips quoted throughout the book all ring so true today, and they are quite the opposite to dry, they are powerful, ironic, irreverent, beautiful, a testament to his universality.

Now excuse me while I’ll go reread Don Juan

[sassafrass · Rating 2 out of 5]

The style of this book is so dry and off the cuff it makes all of Byron's exploits seem incredibly dull. Longford also flip flops between judgemental (esp. in regards to Byron's relationship with Augusta) to bizarrely detached (Byron's horrific treatment of his wife, and Clairmont, as well as his child Allegra). The author also can't seem to decide whether she wants to focus on Byron's poetry, or just his exploits, offering brief, basic analysis of his work, and likewise brief overviews of his relationships and more wild tales. All in all a rather brief, dull affair.

[Farida Mestek · Rating 4 out of 5]

a fascinating read but so tragic...so many wasted lives...so many tragedies...

[cobwebbing · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once Byron held up his lame leg to Trelawny with the remark, "I hope this accursed limb will be knocked off in war."

"I will exchange legs," replied Tre, "if you will give me a portion of your brains."

"You would repent your bargain," said Byron; "at times I feel my brains boiling, as Shelley's did whilst you were grilling him."

I have to admit that I was hooked into reading this biography because of the archetypal Byronic hero that Byron gave rise to with his poetry involving brooding, romantic men. After all, a lot of my favorite works and characters have stemmed from that trope. In the back of my mind I knew that that presentation of him as a person was heavily mythologized.

Still, the reality of a chaotic man fluctuating between being overweight and underweight thanks to constant crash dieting, treating the women in his life with insensitivity at best and frightening outbursts at worst, and travelling all over damnation in exile was not at all what I expected but nonetheless extremely interesting.

I had a difficult time putting this down. Even describing the most menial of events proved exciting with a person like George Gordon around.

I was aghast at some--no, let's be honest, a lot--of the affairs that he had, particularly the ones of the incestuous or pedophilic nature. I'm interested to know more about Caroline Lamb, Annabella, Augusta, and Lady Blessington in particular, as they seem like fascinating historical figures in their own right. The same goes for his daughter Ada Lovelace.

Also, I definitely want to read more about the Shelleys after they received a glorified cameo in this. Pretty bummed out to know the particulars about that famous contest that led to Mary writing Frankenstein (Byron and Percy's participation is next to nonexistent; not quite as exciting as the myth would lead you to believe). Still, I imagine that with events like Mary keeping Percy's heart in her desk that their lives will prove just as interesting as their friend Byron's.

If there's one complaint I had, it was that there were times when I wish that the biographer went into more detail, but I understand that those details may have simply not been available in many cases thanks to BYRON'S MEMOIRS GETTING BURNED AT HIS REQUEST AFTER HIS DEATH! AHHHH! THAT FACT IS SO MADDENING. Still, I really appreciate all of the details that WERE made available in this book, especially when it comes to the truly special description of the opening of Lord Byron's vault to which she and a handful of other people were privy to.

[Marina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sadly, the book is a disappointment. I probably should have expected it - how can such a turbulent life as Byron's be fit in a little more than 200 pages? Anyway, the book reads as a fan's work, not exploring the poet's life but rather perpetuating the myth of Lord Byron, the Great Poet. To the author, her subject seems to be not a real person but rather an abstract, one-dimensional being, whose one aspect - the poetic talent - dominates and obscures everything else. This kind analysis is definitely not for me. The only reason I gave the 2-star rating to the book is the quality of the prose, it is very well-written.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good bio.

[Todd Van Meter · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting an informative biography of George Gordon, Lord Noel Byron. The lion is alone and so am I.