Byron's Women by Alexander Larman
This is a clever idea, and probably provides readers with much more of an insight into the 'mad, bad and dangerous' poet's life than an ordinary biography. Unfortunately, hardly anyone reads Byron anymore, but there still seems to be a great deal of interest in his life, perhaps because of his daughter Ada's scientific contributions. It is a surprise that there seems to be no fuss about 'cancelling' him, or perhaps I just haven't heard about it.
Prepare to be shocked. Byron's treatment of women was mostly egregious, except for his last love, the beautiful Italian Teresa, and his daughter Allegra. Larman devotes chapters to each important woman in Byron's life, and discusses their achievements, so we don't just see them through Byron's eyes. He doesn't make excuses for Byron, but it's a somewhat sympathetic portrayal in the end. Like many rakes, Byron improved as he got older, and began to feel some remorse for his bad behaviour.
The main shocking scandal in the book, is, of course, Byron's affair with his half-sister Augusta, with whom he had a child. Even though Byron had an idea that he'd try to run away with the unhappily married Augusta to Europe, he was extremely conflicted about the relationship, and felt very guilty about it, which does him some credit. Unfortunately, he took this guilt out on Arabella, his long-suffering wife, who was absolutely horrified when she found out about Augusta, although they had a strangely friendly relationship. I personally think that Augusta was worse than Byron as far as their relationship was concerned, because she held the opinion that if it didn't harm anybody else, there was no problem. Unfortunately, this kind of moral relativism is prevalent today.This was a terrifically selfish attitude, because she would have known about the dangers of in-breeding.
This relationship haunted Byron, and affected his relationships with several other women, including Lady Caroline Lamb, and Clare Claremont. He never really got over Augusta, until he fell madly in love with the married Teresa in Italy. Even Byron's relationship with Teresa was quite anguished, though, and he grew tired of her in the end.
This was an enjoyable and interesting book, especially for any lovers of Byron's poetry. I especially liked the partly imaginary and amusing conversation about Byron between Queen Victoria and Lord Melbourne at the end of the book.
I read this for the 22 in '22 Rose City Reader book challenge and Becky's Book Review's Georgian Challenge.
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