Byron
David EllisA concise, clear-eyed account of the flamboyant poet Byron’s life and work.
In this new book, David Ellis traces Byron’s life from rented lodgings in Aberdeen to the crumbling splendours of Newstead Abbey and then on to his grand tour of the East. Describing his exile from England after a disastrous marriage, and subsequent travels in Italy and Greece, he shows how completely Byron’s experiences coloured his writings, drawing out the tension between the ‘serious’ works (Childe Harold, The Corsair) and his more comic writings. Although the former brought him early fame and fortune, it is the latter which now seem most worthwhile. Byron is a fresh, concise and clear-eyed account of the flamboyant poet’s life and work.
A concise, clear-eyed account of the flamboyant poet Byron’s life and work.
In this new book, David Ellis traces Byron’s life from rented lodgings in Aberdeen to the crumbling splendours of Newstead Abbey and then on to his grand tour of the East. Describing his exile from England after a disastrous marriage, and subsequent travels in Italy and Greece, he shows how completely Byron’s experiences coloured his writings, drawing out the tension between the ‘serious’ works (Childe Harold, The Corsair) and his more comic writings. Although the former brought him early fame and fortune, it is the latter which now seem most worthwhile. Byron is a fresh, concise and clear-eyed account of the flamboyant poet’s life and work.
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David Ellis's intelligent and fair-minded new short Life for Reaktion.
'The Times Literary Supplement
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A spirited biography . . . [and] solid introduction to a captivating literary figure.
'Publishers Weekly
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A brisk, insightful literary biography.
'Kirkus Reviews
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If any poet’s biography is worth knowing, it’s Byron’s, simply because the life was so full of incident. This does not mean that a biography could explain him, any more than reading his wonderful letters and journals can explain him, but they comprise a superior form of entertainment. David Ellis has now published a short biography, more a sketch of the life, in the Critical Lives series from Reaktion Books. It touches on the major influences and events.
'The Hudson Review
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Byron biographer David Ellis [writes] about the romantic poet's flamboyant life and work.
'The History of Literature Podcast
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David Ellis provides a concise and distinct review of Byron’s life and works . . . Detailing Byron’s complex life is certainly no straightforward task, yet Ellis approaches the subject with expertise, utilising a variety of well-placed sources, understanding and good humour to create a vivid and unbiased portrayal of one of history’s most celebrated poets.
'The Pilgrim magazine
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A lively and reliable picture of Byron’s life and works. David Ellis delivers an even-handed account of the poet’s adventures abroad and of the many dramas in his life – personal, financial, literary and political.
'Christopher W. Thompson, Emeritus Professor of French, University of Warwick
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David Ellis has written a witty, lucid and richly informative book that demonstrates what a great comic writer Lord Byron was; it’s brief, but every page punches above its weight.
'John Worthen, biographer and Professor of English, University of Nottingham
David Ellis is an Emeritus Professor of English at the University of Kent, and the author of more than fifteen books, including Byron in Geneva: That Summer of 1816 (2011) and Frank Cioffi: The Philosopher in Shirt-Sleeves (2015).
