“A poet dangerous to know,” said Lady Caroline Lamb, infatuated with Lord Byron
As were many others, both in fact and in fancy, for he was a man who had the misfortune to become a legend in his own time.
It was largely a scandalous legend.
The reputed improprieties of his life have continued to shadow his name and obscure the details of what was in essence a tragic story.
Born of an unhappy marriage, lame from infancy, reared in an uncomfortable mixture of poverty and grandeur, Byron was also gifted, spectacularly handsome, and a peer, attributes which ensured his entry into fashionable London society.
He was headstrong, brave almost to recklessness, and proud, a storm-centre wherever he went, his complex character an enigma both to his admirers and detractors.
Geoffrey Trease traces Byron’s turbulent career, outlining with tact and clarity the varied relationships that formed his character and ordered his life from its deprived beginning to his untimely death, mourned by Greek patriots and a handful of loyal and devoted friends.
He relates the poet’s work to the events that inspired and enriched them.
Byron’s poems are so interwoven with his personal life that they are often incomprehensible by themselves, and Byron’s human relationships must be explained as well as his foreign travels and romantic death.
“Geoffrey Trease has certainly got the knack. He can write for young people, in this case mainly for teenagers, without being obvious. The excitement is there where fact permits. So is the lucidity, with events all round the world fitting smoothly into their proper place and time” - The Daily Telegraph
“I found it a fascinating book. I wish that all history books were so inviting and intelligent.” - Naomi Lewes, BBC
“History at its most agreeable and readable.” - Time and Tide
Geoffrey Trease (1909-1998) was the author of more than one hundred books, including children’s books. He revolutionised children’s literature and was one of the first authors to deliberately appeal to both boys and girls through strong leading characters of both genders. In 1966 Trease won the New York Herald Tribune Book Award for This is Your Century. Geoffrey Trease was educated at Oxford University and travelled widely in Europe and beyond. He lived in Herefordshire on the slopes of the Malvern Hills.
As were many others, both in fact and in fancy, for he was a man who had the misfortune to become a legend in his own time.
It was largely a scandalous legend.
The reputed improprieties of his life have continued to shadow his name and obscure the details of what was in essence a tragic story.
Born of an unhappy marriage, lame from infancy, reared in an uncomfortable mixture of poverty and grandeur, Byron was also gifted, spectacularly handsome, and a peer, attributes which ensured his entry into fashionable London society.
He was headstrong, brave almost to recklessness, and proud, a storm-centre wherever he went, his complex character an enigma both to his admirers and detractors.
Geoffrey Trease traces Byron’s turbulent career, outlining with tact and clarity the varied relationships that formed his character and ordered his life from its deprived beginning to his untimely death, mourned by Greek patriots and a handful of loyal and devoted friends.
He relates the poet’s work to the events that inspired and enriched them.
Byron’s poems are so interwoven with his personal life that they are often incomprehensible by themselves, and Byron’s human relationships must be explained as well as his foreign travels and romantic death.
Praise for Geoffrey Trease
“Geoffrey Trease has certainly got the knack. He can write for young people, in this case mainly for teenagers, without being obvious. The excitement is there where fact permits. So is the lucidity, with events all round the world fitting smoothly into their proper place and time” - The Daily Telegraph
“I found it a fascinating book. I wish that all history books were so inviting and intelligent.” - Naomi Lewes, BBC
“History at its most agreeable and readable.” - Time and Tide
Geoffrey Trease (1909-1998) was the author of more than one hundred books, including children’s books. He revolutionised children’s literature and was one of the first authors to deliberately appeal to both boys and girls through strong leading characters of both genders. In 1966 Trease won the New York Herald Tribune Book Award for This is Your Century. Geoffrey Trease was educated at Oxford University and travelled widely in Europe and beyond. He lived in Herefordshire on the slopes of the Malvern Hills.
