Two hundred years after his death, Lord Byron remains one of Britain’s most controversial poets. But who was the real man behind this scandalous reputation? Charlotte May and Amy Wilcockson look at his life through nine objects
THE TEENAGE LETTER-WRITER ▲
She may have described him as a “fat, bashful boy”, but this letter from a young Byron to his neighbour, Elizabeth Pigot, reveals the pair’s close bond
In May 1798, the fifth Lord Byron died. The unexpected heir to the title was his great-nephew, George Gordon Byron, who became the sixth Baron Byron of Rochdale at just 10 years old.
Born on 22 January 1788, Byron spent his early years with his mother in Aberdeen after being abandoned by his father, John ‘Mad Jack’ Byron. Following the inheritance of his great-uncle’s title, Byron headed south to the family’s ancestral home, Newstead Abbey in Nottinghamshire, but found it had fallen into a ruinous state. Byron and his mother therefore ended up residing at Burgage Manor, in the nearby town of Southwell.
The above letter, written in August 1804 when Byron was 16 years old, was sent to Elizabeth Pigot (1783–1866), one of his earliest correspondents and potentially his first real friend. Pigot lived with her family opposite the poet’s house in Southwell, and described Byron as a “fat, bashful boy”.
Despite this rather unflattering description, Pigot was fond of Byron, and their friendship grew. Indeed, the message (sent while Byron was away at Harrow School in Middlesex) reveals his “great pleasure” in having recently received a drawing of a coat of arms from Pigot, and how happy he would be to hear her sing one of his favourite tunes.
After writing that he sincerely hopes to see her again soon, he signs off with genuine warmth: “My dear Miss Pigot, I remain, your affectionate friend.”
Pigot’s copies of Byron’s poems were later sent to the bookseller John Ridge and published in Byron’s first poetry collections Fugitive Pieces (1806) and Hours of Idleness (1807). It was the latter that launched his career.
BYRON THE BOXER
This pair of boxing gloves points to Byron’s early interest in pugilism, as well as poetry
The young Byron was very proud of his athletic pursuits. He played in the first cricket match between Harrow and Eton in 1805, swam the Hellespont (a perilous strait in Turkey)
