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Byron: A Life in Ten Letters

Byron: A Life in Ten Letters

by Andrew Stauffer

Cambridge University Press ·2024 ·412 pages ·Biography
Academic Press
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Scholars

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About This Book

Lord Byron was the most celebrated of all the Romantic poets. Troubled, handsome, sexually fluid, disabled, and transgressive, he wrote his way to international fame – and scandal – before finding a kind of redemption in the Greek Revolution. He also left behind the vast trove of thrilling letters (to friends, relatives, lovers, and more) that form the core of this remarkable biography. Published to coincide with the 200th anniversary of Byron's death, and adopting a fresh approach, it explores his life and work through some of his best, most resonant correspondence. Each chapter opens with Byron's own voice – as if we have opened a letter from the poet himself – followed by a vivid account of the emotions and experiences that missive touches. This gripping life traces the meteoric trajectory of a poet whose brilliance shook the world and whose legacy continues to shape art and culture to this day.


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Reviews

"Paradoxically scholarly and entertaining."

Camille Ralphs· The Telegraph (UK) Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"We hear Byron's rapid-fire conversational voice on the page ..."

Michael Dirda· The Washington Post Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"This stands out in the crowded field of Byron biographies."

Publishers Weekly Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"Stauffer's book is a splendid thing, colourful and busy with incident, but always thoughtful and astute in its judgments."

John Banville· The Guardian Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"This devilishly readable book brings Regency England and Napoleonic Europe to howling life and pulls its disgraceful but irresistible subject into dazzling focus."

John Walsh· The Times (UK) Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"Stauffer dedicates a fair amount of space to explaining the many references in the letters, but he's also careful to maintain a lively narrative of Byron's life, clear about his many flaws but clarifying why he was such a commanding figure."

Kirkus Read review ↗ Near the Top

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