The Letters of Lord Byron

edited by R. G. Howarth
introduction by Andre Maurois

WALMER BELLES-LETTRES vol. 2

Was Lord Byron “mad, bad and dangerous to know” as Lady Caroline Lamb averred? Does the popular picture of him bear scrutiny? The best way to find out is to hear from the man himself.

Byron’s works were enormously varied; their portent changed as his life moved from the uncomfortable ease of Britain to the stimulating exile of Europe, and Italy in particular.

It is in his personal writings that we are able to tie together all of his disparities, both of work and personal reputation, into a unified whole. These 284 letters and letter-excerpts vividly portray a magnificently independent man of means whose impatience with brow-beating, mediocrity and convention was legendary.

Ranging from an early epistle to his mother at the age of 11, to heartfelt mourning over the loss of dear friends, to exchanges in love, to all the to and fro of publishing most of his extraordinary works, to the celebration of lifelong connections, to criticism of society and its literary adherents, to political and military machinations in Italy and, finally, Greece, these letters are better than autobiography – they are the brilliant record of life as it was lived day-to-day by one of the most notable men of his era.

PUBLICATION : November 25, 2014

ISBN : 978-0-9925234-7-3 paperback