Byron

Life And Legend

Fiona MacCarthy

Fiona MacCarthy's Byron: Life and Legend is a breakthrough in reinterpreting Byron's life and poetry for a new generation, showing him as a formative figure in European romanticism, as Byron described himself, 'the Napoleon of Rhyme'. MacCarthy brings a fresh eye to Byron's short but brilliant life, from his embattled relations with his mother, his early travels in the Mediterranean and the East, his relationships with adolescent boys, to the tragicomedy of his marriage, his incestuous love for his half-sister and the clamorous attention of his female fans.

First published:: 2002
Published by:: John Murray Press
Length:: Hardcover 674 pages

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About the author

A well-known broadcaster and critic, Fiona MacCarthy established herself as one of the leading writers of biography in Britain with her widely acclaimed book Eric Gill, published in 1989. Her biography of Byron was described by A.N. Wilson as 'a flawless triumph' and William Morris won the Wolfson History Prize and the Writers' Guild Non-Fiction Award. She most recently published Last Curtsey, a memoir of her early life as a debutante. Fiona is a Senior Fellow of the Royal College of Art, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and an Hon. Fellow of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford. She was awarded the OBE for services to literature in 2009.