The Wicked Lord Byron by Richard Deakin
In this novel Lord Byron, one of the most luminous characters in history, consciously forges his own legend. He evolves into the iconic personality of his age - with irresistible beauty, poetic genius, outrageous sexuality, and a radical commitment to the revolutionary struggles against the forces of tyranny in England, Italy, and finally Greece.
Deakin's novel sticks close to the official chronology..The Wicked Lord Byron is framed by a deathbed dialogue between Byron's dying body and his rakish Nightgowned Spirit...In my favourite scene, Byron watches his ancestor, the Wicked 5th Lord Byron, shoot his cousin in a duel after a disagreement over the best way to hang game. He shakes Chaworth's limp body roughly. 'Can you hear me, Willie? From a tower in a bag, d'ye see? It IS the only way.' At his droll best, the author seems to be enjoying himself: 'What is it like to be an only Childe?'- THE TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT --------------------------------Together the two poles of Byron's personality...the stylish but cynical Dandy (Spirit) and the more empathetic, suffering ordinary man (Body) - revisit the key scenes...through which his destiny unfolded. This scenario - an inventive variation on the 'his-life-flashed-before-him' trope - is the starting premise of Richard Deakin's energetic and entertaining retelling of Byron's life...there are some memorable scenes here of drunkenness and youthful high jinks...The closing chapters paint an often moving picture of an aging Byron...particularly effective...is the poet's growing realisation not only that the Greek cause needs some sort of grand symbolic gesture or sacrifice but that he himself is fated to be that sacrifice. The Wicked Lord Byron is a commendable addition to the long and extensive tradition of fictional and filmic renderings of the poet's life. - From internationally acclaimed review THE BYRON JOURNAL ----------------------------------------------------------------------------TERRY GILLIAM: ...a novel about Byron that is really interesting... From: PAUL MCKENNA's POSITIVITY PODCAST - 42 (multi-award winning screenwriter, actor, comedian and member of Monty Python's Flying Circus Terry Gilliam joins Paul McKenna)
RICHARD DEAKIN was educated as an undergraduate in England and was a graduate student and later a Creative Writing Fellow in the USA. He has a history of writing biographical drama about literary legends such as Kerouac, Kafka, and Poe, with plays staged in London, Paris and New York. ANGELS STILL FALLING, his West End bioplay of Jack Kerouac, was critically acclaimed in the FINANCIAL TIMES, the TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT (“the audience dispersed on a palpable high…”) and other journals, was Critic’s Choice in TIME OUT (“superlative play…utterly compelling…”) and is currently in development as a film.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781912572007 |
| ISBN 10 | 1912572001 |
| Title | The Wicked Lord Byron |
| Author | Richard Deakin |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Achilles Books (Achilles Productions) |
| Year published | 2018-09-19 |
| Number of pages | 352 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |