An Unofficial 'The Rest Is History' Reading List

442. Lord Byron: Dangerous Liaisons (Part 3)

April 21, 2024

Description

Good God I am surely in hell! Upon Lord Byron’s return to England and the publication of Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, he became one of the most notorious men in Europe and the world's first...
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Books Referenced

Childe Harold's Pilgrimage

Author: Lord Byron

Context:

Byron's poem that made him famous overnight, described as 'arguably the first such hit in literary history' and discussed as launching his celebrity status

Dead Famous: An Unexpected History of Celebrity

Author: Greg Jenner

Context:

Referenced as 'a guy who's written a history of celebrity' - a book about the history of celebrity that argues Dr. Sacheverell was the first celebrity

Pride and Prejudice

Author: Jane Austen

Context:

Mentioned as coming out the year after Byron became famous, with elements of Byron possibly influencing Mr. Darcy's character

Persuasion

Author: Jane Austen

Context:

Described as Jane Austen's last novel, mentioned as name-checking Byron

Byron: Life and Legend

Author: Fiona McCarthy

Context:

Described as her 'brilliant biography of Byron' where she describes Lady Caroline Lamb as 'the fan to end all fans'

Byron: Child of Passion, Fool of Fame

Author: Benita Eisler

Context:

Described as having 'also written a great biography' of Byron, quoted for a description of Lady Caroline Lamb's appearance

Don Juan

Author: Lord Byron

Context:

Byron's work mentioned as containing a portrait of Augusta as a slave girl named Dudu in a harem in Constantinople

Justine

Author: Marquis de Sade

Context:

Mentioned as a 'secret copy' found by Lady Byron in her husband's travelling trunk

The Difference Engine

Author: William Gibson and Bruce Sterling

Context:

Described as a counterfactual book where Ada Lovelace and Babbage create computers in Victorian Britain, with Lady Byron's marriage being a pivot point

Jane Eyre

Author: Charlotte Brontë

Context:

Briefly referenced as an example of the romantic template of a woman wanting to reform a troubled man

Frankenstein

Author: Mary Shelley

Context:

Mentioned at the end when previewing the next episode about Byron with the Shelleys in Italy

Letters and Journals of Lord Byron

Author: Thomas Moore

Context:

Referenced as Byron's friend 'the poet, who will be the first to write his biography'