442. Lord Byron: Dangerous Liaisons (Part 3)

Context:

Mentioned as coming out the year after Byron became famous in 1812, with Tom Holland suggesting there are 'elements of Byron in Mr. Darcy.' The novel is used to illustrate how the Byronic figure influenced romantic literary archetypes, with the whole Byron saga described as 'Pride and Prejudice on Hard Drugs.'

Context:

Described as Jane Austen's last novel, noted as 'name-checking Byron,' used as evidence of how Byron's fame and influence on the concept of the attractive, charismatic aristocratic figure had permeated even Austen's literary world.

Context:

Described as another 'great biography' of Byron, quoted at length for a vivid physical description of Lady Caroline Lamb as 'small, unfashionably slender and flat-chested in an age that admired opulent female attributes, splendid snowy breasts, buttocks and bellies.' Used as a key source alongside McCarthy's biography.

Context:

Mentioned as the work in which Byron gives a portrait of his half-sister Augusta as a slave girl named Dudu in a harem in Constantinople, describing her as 'a kind of sleepy Venus, somewhat large and languishing and lazy, yet of a beauty that would drive you crazy.' Reveals how Byron transmuted his most scandalous relationship into literature.

Context:

Discovered by Lady Byron in her husband's travelling trunk alongside a bottle of laudanum, as she searched for evidence to support a legal separation. The secret possession of this infamous erotic novel is presented as further evidence of Byron's transgressive nature and sexual preoccupations.

Context:

Described as a counterfactual novel in which Ada Lovelace and Babbage create the computer age in Victorian Britain. The hosts note that the pivot point of this alternate history is Lady Byron submitting to sodomy rather than leaving her husband, which enables Byron to become prime minister — described as 'an unlikely prospect.'

Context:

Referenced as an example of the romantic template that Byron's marriage to Annabella exemplified — a woman wanting to reform and 'fix' a troubled, brooding man. Holland notes that Byron's marriage established the archetype seen in Jane Eyre and 'Mills and Boon' romances.

Context:

Mentioned in the episode's closing preview of part 4, where the hosts will discuss Byron in Italy with the Shelleys, including Mary Shelley, 'the author of Frankenstein.' Teased as part of the next episode's content about Byron's exile period.

Context:

Thomas Moore is referenced as Byron's friend 'the poet, who will be the first to write his biography,' to whom Byron confides about his 'far more serious and entirely new scrape' — his incestuous affair with Augusta. Moore's biography is implicitly one of the key primary sources for the episode's narrative.

Context:

Discussed as poems Byron wrote during his marriage, commissioned by Jewish composer Isaac Nathan to set to music based on the Old Testament. The hosts describe these as 'some of Byron's most beautiful poetry,' quoting from 'The Destruction of Sennacherib' ('The Assyrian came down like a wolf on the fold'). Lady Byron helped copy these out, representing a rare moment of domestic harmony.

Context:

Though the novel itself isn't explicitly named, Lady Melbourne is repeatedly compared to Madame de Merteuil from 'Dangerous Liaisons,' and Byron to the Vicomte de Valmont. The hosts describe the entire web of relationships — Lady Melbourne manipulating Byron, pimping out her niece Annabella, and scheming against her daughter-in-law Caroline — as being 'very, very dangerous liaisons.' The comparison structures much of the episode's narrative.

Context:

Central to the episode's narrative, this is the poem that made Byron an overnight celebrity in 1812. Described as 'arguably the first such hit in literary history,' it launched Byron's fame and fan culture. Caroline Lamb reads it and is 'swept away by it,' writing Byron a fan letter. Essential reading for understanding the birth of literary celebrity.

Context:

Referenced when the hosts debate whether Byron was the first celebrity. Greg Jenner's book argues that Dr. Sacheverell, the disputatious Anglican clergyman from the early 18th century, was actually the first celebrity, while the hosts argue Byron represents a new kind of celebrity driven by print and commercial culture.

Context:

Described as a 'brilliant biography of Byron,' McCarthy's work is cited for her characterization of Lady Caroline Lamb as 'the fan to end all fans.' The biography is clearly one of the main sources used by the hosts in constructing this episode's narrative.