Lord Byron: Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know by Rosemary Gemmell
Today on History Undressed, I'd like to welcome guest author Rosemary Gemmell, who writes under the name Romy Gemmell. She's written a wonderful article on the most titilating of subjects--or rather a historical figure who most people know by name: Lord Byron!
LordByron: Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know
ByRosemary Gemmell
"I have been more ravished myself thananybody since the Trojan War."
This is, perhaps, a fitting epitaph forthe man whom Lady Caroline Lamb once called: Mad, bad, and dangerous to know. Bornin 1788, during the elegant Enlightenment period, George Gordon, 6th Lord Byronepitomised the romance of Regency England. The publication of the first andsecond canto of his epic poem ChildeHarold's Pilgrimage, in 1812, introduced Byron to the eminent literaryworld of the time. And this young nobleman embodied the very essence of theromantic villain-hero that has graced the pages of fiction ever since. Themelancholy hero of the poem, Childe Harold, embarks on a solitary pilgrimageround Spain, Portugal, Greece and the Aegean after turning away from a life ofpleasure, and is widely believed to be a self-portrait of Byron.
Son of profligate gambler Captain JohnByron and Scottish heiress Catherine Gordon, Byron's early life was spent inAberdeenshire, when his father fled to France soon after the birth where hedied three years later. Byron's mother, who was descended from James 1 ofScotland, took him to her hometown where she began educating her son before hetook his place at Aberdeen Grammar School. The firstten years of Byron's life were surrounded by relative poverty as his father hadsquandered his wife's money as well as his own. It is believed that Byron wasborn with a clubfoot and that this slight deformity was to have a profoundeffect on his future temperament.
Then, in 1798, Byron's life was changedforever. His great-uncle William died and left young George the baronial titleand estate at Newstead Abbey in Nottinghamshire. Leaving behind his ordinarylife in Scotland, Byron wenton to study at Harrow followed by TrinityCollege Cambridge. And so began Byron's writinglife, as well as his reputation for high-spirited, even wild, behaviour.
He published his first poems in a smallvolume called Fugitive Pieces in1807. When his friend advised him theywere too sensual, Byron impulsively destroyed them and only four copiessurvived. However, Byron eventually revised his poems and published them as'Poems on Various Occasions', which became Hoursof Idleness. It was hardly an encouraging start to his literary career whenhis poems were attacked by Brougham in the EdinburghReview. Cultivating the satirical writing that would be his trademark,Byron avenged himself on Brougham by writing a satire in 1809 entitled, English Bards and Scotch Reviewers.
In that same year, Byron took his seat inthe House of Lords but eventually left England, travelling to Portugal, Spain,Malta, Greece and the Levant over the next two years. On his return home, agedtwenty four, Byron's days of fame and notoriety began. The first and secondcanto of Childe Harold's Pilgrimage elevatedByron to the ranks of literary genius beside Shakespeare, and ensured he becamethe most influential British poet known throughout Europe. Byron himselfremarked, "I awoke one morning and found myself famous."
There seems no doubt that Byron washugely attractive to, and attracted by, women. Sir Walter Scott, whom Byrongreatly admired, described him as having "the remarkable contrast of very darkhair and eyebrows with light and expressive eyes", while his predominatingexpression was that of "deep and habitual thought".
Young, aristocratic, a romantic wanderer,a poetic genius, the Regency society of the day could hardly get enough ofByron. Apart from his scandalous liaison with the married Lady Caroline Lamb, oneserious attachment eventually caused him pain and exile. Byron apparently fellin love with his half-sister, Augusta, who seemingly bore him a daughter. Inthe midst of increasing rumours of incense, he finally married AnnabellaMilbanke, Lady Caroline Lamb's clever cousin, in 1815. Known for her piety andintellect, Byron admired Annabella as "a very superior woman a littleencumbered with virtue". She hoped to be the means of Byron's redemption. The relationship was short-lived, lasting onlya year before Annabella left Byron, taking their daughter Ada with her. Shethen devoted the rest of her life to maligning Byron's character.
In a very short time, the society who hadidolised Lord Byron began to snub him, and his name increasingly becamesynonymous with the depravity and monstrosity with which Annabella hadslandered him. With rising debts and hounded by bailiffs, Byron, just 28 yearsold and at the pinnacle of his fame, left England never to return. The publicbelieved Annabella's damning stories, added their own embellishments and createda portrait of him that he recognised was partly his own fault. Childe Harold's Pilgrimage ends with thewords:
"I planted –they have torn me – and I bleed:I should haveknown what fruit would spring fromSuch a seed."
Byron joined the poet Shelley and hiswife, Mary, and her stepsister Claire Claremont, at Lake Geneva in 1816, whereMary Shelley wrote her famous Frankenstein.Even there, Byron was true to form, giving Claire Claremont a daughter,Allegra, born in Englandin 1817, although the child died five years later.
Byron didn't return to England with theothers, moving instead to Venice and Rome until, with the sale of Newstead in1818, he was finally free from financial worries. The remainder of Byron's lifewas as colourful as his past. In 1819, he became deeply attached to Teresa, themarried Countess Guiccioli, living with her in Veniceand then Ravenna.Teresa left her husband, took her family and went to Leghorn with Byron. When Leigh Hunt joinedthem, Byron and he co-produced TheLiberal magazine.
A humanitarian as much as a libertine,Byron had a fully developed social conscience, making an impassioned plea onbehalf of the industrial poor in the House of Lords and giving some of hismoney away, even while in debt. His stature as a poet grew, notorietynotwithstanding, especially when he published his innovative and masterly poem,Don Juan, a commentary on the societythat had rejected him.
Byron's social conscience finally tookhim to Greece where he formed the 'Byron Brigade' to support to the Greeks'fight for independence. He made such an impression that they hailed him a hero.George Gordon, 6th Lord Byron, ended his days in the country he hadchampioned, dying of a fever at Missolonghi, aged 36. The Greeks wanted tohonour him with burial in Athens but only hisheart remained in Greece,while his body returned to England.Even in death, they spurned him, refusing his burial in Westminster Abbey.Byron was buried in the family vault in the church at Huchnall Torkard, nearNewstead Abbey.
Byron and his poetry, however, had causeda huge impact all over Europe, making him one of the most famous English poetsever known. And the legend of the melancholy, Byronic hero lives on in thepages of literature, from that of his contemporary, Jane Austen, to many modernday romances. Byron had the last word, exposing the double standards, politicsand social relations of Regency England in Don Juan:
"Without, or with, offence to friends or foes, I sketch your world exactly as it goes."
Author Bio:
Rosemary Gemmell'sfirst historical novel, DangerousDeceit , Regency intrigue set in England of 1813, was published byChampagne Books in May 2011 (as Romy). Her first tween novel, Summerof the Eagles , which is set in Scotland, is being published by MuseItUpPublishing in March 2012 (as Ros).
Her short storiesand articles are published in UK magazines, in the US, and Online, and her children'sstories are in three different anthologies. One of her short stories wasincluded in the fundraising book, '100Stories for Haiti' in 2010. Ahistorical short story was published in 'TheWaterloo Collection', launched by the late professor Richard Holmes inApril 2011, and a short story was included in the cancer anthology, 'Lavender Dreams', from MuseItUp. Shehas won a few competitions and will be a short story adjudicator at the annualScottish Association of Writers' Conference in March 2012.
Rosemary Gemmell, ScotlandWebsite: www.rosemarygemmell.comMain Blog: http://ros-readingandwriting.blogspot.comRomancing History Blog: http://romygemmell.blogspot.comFlights of Imagination Blog (children's):http://rosgemmell.blogspot.comTwitter: @rosemarygemmell
DangerousDeceit
Lydia Hetheringtonis uninterested in society balls or marriage, until her brother's friend, LordMarcus Sheldon, rides into her life to unseat her from her horse and unsettleher heart. An undercover spy for the government, Sheldon is equally unsettledby Lydia.
Complicated by aFrench spy, her best friend's unrequited love for Lydia's brother, James, and atraitorous villain, Lydia gradually finds her emotions stirred by Lord Sheldon.But what is his relationship with the beautiful Lady Smythe and his part in anold scandal? Lydia faces danger before all deception is uncovered and loveclaims its reward.
LordByron: Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know
ByRosemary Gemmell
"I have been more ravished myself thananybody since the Trojan War."This is, perhaps, a fitting epitaph forthe man whom Lady Caroline Lamb once called: Mad, bad, and dangerous to know. Bornin 1788, during the elegant Enlightenment period, George Gordon, 6th Lord Byronepitomised the romance of Regency England. The publication of the first andsecond canto of his epic poem ChildeHarold's Pilgrimage, in 1812, introduced Byron to the eminent literaryworld of the time. And this young nobleman embodied the very essence of theromantic villain-hero that has graced the pages of fiction ever since. Themelancholy hero of the poem, Childe Harold, embarks on a solitary pilgrimageround Spain, Portugal, Greece and the Aegean after turning away from a life ofpleasure, and is widely believed to be a self-portrait of Byron.
Son of profligate gambler Captain JohnByron and Scottish heiress Catherine Gordon, Byron's early life was spent inAberdeenshire, when his father fled to France soon after the birth where hedied three years later. Byron's mother, who was descended from James 1 ofScotland, took him to her hometown where she began educating her son before hetook his place at Aberdeen Grammar School. The firstten years of Byron's life were surrounded by relative poverty as his father hadsquandered his wife's money as well as his own. It is believed that Byron wasborn with a clubfoot and that this slight deformity was to have a profoundeffect on his future temperament.
Then, in 1798, Byron's life was changedforever. His great-uncle William died and left young George the baronial titleand estate at Newstead Abbey in Nottinghamshire. Leaving behind his ordinarylife in Scotland, Byron wenton to study at Harrow followed by TrinityCollege Cambridge. And so began Byron's writinglife, as well as his reputation for high-spirited, even wild, behaviour.
He published his first poems in a smallvolume called Fugitive Pieces in1807. When his friend advised him theywere too sensual, Byron impulsively destroyed them and only four copiessurvived. However, Byron eventually revised his poems and published them as'Poems on Various Occasions', which became Hoursof Idleness. It was hardly an encouraging start to his literary career whenhis poems were attacked by Brougham in the EdinburghReview. Cultivating the satirical writing that would be his trademark,Byron avenged himself on Brougham by writing a satire in 1809 entitled, English Bards and Scotch Reviewers.
In that same year, Byron took his seat inthe House of Lords but eventually left England, travelling to Portugal, Spain,Malta, Greece and the Levant over the next two years. On his return home, agedtwenty four, Byron's days of fame and notoriety began. The first and secondcanto of Childe Harold's Pilgrimage elevatedByron to the ranks of literary genius beside Shakespeare, and ensured he becamethe most influential British poet known throughout Europe. Byron himselfremarked, "I awoke one morning and found myself famous."
There seems no doubt that Byron washugely attractive to, and attracted by, women. Sir Walter Scott, whom Byrongreatly admired, described him as having "the remarkable contrast of very darkhair and eyebrows with light and expressive eyes", while his predominatingexpression was that of "deep and habitual thought".
Young, aristocratic, a romantic wanderer,a poetic genius, the Regency society of the day could hardly get enough ofByron. Apart from his scandalous liaison with the married Lady Caroline Lamb, oneserious attachment eventually caused him pain and exile. Byron apparently fellin love with his half-sister, Augusta, who seemingly bore him a daughter. Inthe midst of increasing rumours of incense, he finally married AnnabellaMilbanke, Lady Caroline Lamb's clever cousin, in 1815. Known for her piety andintellect, Byron admired Annabella as "a very superior woman a littleencumbered with virtue". She hoped to be the means of Byron's redemption. The relationship was short-lived, lasting onlya year before Annabella left Byron, taking their daughter Ada with her. Shethen devoted the rest of her life to maligning Byron's character.
In a very short time, the society who hadidolised Lord Byron began to snub him, and his name increasingly becamesynonymous with the depravity and monstrosity with which Annabella hadslandered him. With rising debts and hounded by bailiffs, Byron, just 28 yearsold and at the pinnacle of his fame, left England never to return. The publicbelieved Annabella's damning stories, added their own embellishments and createda portrait of him that he recognised was partly his own fault. Childe Harold's Pilgrimage ends with thewords:
"I planted –they have torn me – and I bleed:I should haveknown what fruit would spring fromSuch a seed."
Byron joined the poet Shelley and hiswife, Mary, and her stepsister Claire Claremont, at Lake Geneva in 1816, whereMary Shelley wrote her famous Frankenstein.Even there, Byron was true to form, giving Claire Claremont a daughter,Allegra, born in Englandin 1817, although the child died five years later.
Byron didn't return to England with theothers, moving instead to Venice and Rome until, with the sale of Newstead in1818, he was finally free from financial worries. The remainder of Byron's lifewas as colourful as his past. In 1819, he became deeply attached to Teresa, themarried Countess Guiccioli, living with her in Veniceand then Ravenna.Teresa left her husband, took her family and went to Leghorn with Byron. When Leigh Hunt joinedthem, Byron and he co-produced TheLiberal magazine.
A humanitarian as much as a libertine,Byron had a fully developed social conscience, making an impassioned plea onbehalf of the industrial poor in the House of Lords and giving some of hismoney away, even while in debt. His stature as a poet grew, notorietynotwithstanding, especially when he published his innovative and masterly poem,Don Juan, a commentary on the societythat had rejected him.
Byron's social conscience finally tookhim to Greece where he formed the 'Byron Brigade' to support to the Greeks'fight for independence. He made such an impression that they hailed him a hero.George Gordon, 6th Lord Byron, ended his days in the country he hadchampioned, dying of a fever at Missolonghi, aged 36. The Greeks wanted tohonour him with burial in Athens but only hisheart remained in Greece,while his body returned to England.Even in death, they spurned him, refusing his burial in Westminster Abbey.Byron was buried in the family vault in the church at Huchnall Torkard, nearNewstead Abbey.
Byron and his poetry, however, had causeda huge impact all over Europe, making him one of the most famous English poetsever known. And the legend of the melancholy, Byronic hero lives on in thepages of literature, from that of his contemporary, Jane Austen, to many modernday romances. Byron had the last word, exposing the double standards, politicsand social relations of Regency England in Don Juan:
"Without, or with, offence to friends or foes, I sketch your world exactly as it goes."
Author Bio:
Rosemary Gemmell'sfirst historical novel, DangerousDeceit , Regency intrigue set in England of 1813, was published byChampagne Books in May 2011 (as Romy). Her first tween novel, Summerof the Eagles , which is set in Scotland, is being published by MuseItUpPublishing in March 2012 (as Ros).
Her short storiesand articles are published in UK magazines, in the US, and Online, and her children'sstories are in three different anthologies. One of her short stories wasincluded in the fundraising book, '100Stories for Haiti' in 2010. Ahistorical short story was published in 'TheWaterloo Collection', launched by the late professor Richard Holmes inApril 2011, and a short story was included in the cancer anthology, 'Lavender Dreams', from MuseItUp. Shehas won a few competitions and will be a short story adjudicator at the annualScottish Association of Writers' Conference in March 2012.
Rosemary Gemmell, ScotlandWebsite: www.rosemarygemmell.comMain Blog: http://ros-readingandwriting.blogspot.comRomancing History Blog: http://romygemmell.blogspot.comFlights of Imagination Blog (children's):http://rosgemmell.blogspot.comTwitter: @rosemarygemmell
DangerousDeceit
Lydia Hetheringtonis uninterested in society balls or marriage, until her brother's friend, LordMarcus Sheldon, rides into her life to unseat her from her horse and unsettleher heart. An undercover spy for the government, Sheldon is equally unsettledby Lydia.
Complicated by aFrench spy, her best friend's unrequited love for Lydia's brother, James, and atraitorous villain, Lydia gradually finds her emotions stirred by Lord Sheldon.But what is his relationship with the beautiful Lady Smythe and his part in anold scandal? Lydia faces danger before all deception is uncovered and loveclaims its reward.
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