Byron: A Life in Ten Letters

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.

'This new biography of Byron is a miracle of condensation; by putting the letters centre-stage, Professor Stauffer manages to let his subject speak for himself in all the contradictory range of his moods and circumstances - at the same time as elegantly and unobtrusively shaping a narrative that leaps off the page.' Roderick Beaton, Emeritus Koraes Professor of Modern Greek & Byzantine History, Language & Literature, King's College London

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