The Works of Lord Byron. Vol. 2

Lord Byron didn't just write poetry, he invented a version of himself that still haunts literature today. This volume gathers the complete poetic works of the 19th century's most rebellious genius: the creator of the Byronic hero, the aristocrat who scandalized Europe, the man who died for Greek independence at thirty-six. Here is Childe Harold, that weary young nobleman wandering through Albania, Greece, Spain, and Portugal, meditating on empire, nature, and his own disillusionment. Here is Don Juan, Byron's furious, funny, sexually anarchic masterpiece of satire. Here too are the Hebrew Melodies, the gothic tales, and, appearing in digital print for the first time, Byron's vampire fragment, a precursor to every bloodsucker that followed. Also included: his letters, his journals, and John Galt's pioneering biography, which traces the arc of a life as dramatic as any poem. This is Byron unbound: passionate, profane, politically explosive, and utterly unrepentant. For readers who want to understand where modern literary darkness comes from, this is the source.