The Works of Lord Byron. Letters and Journals. A New, Revised and Enlarged Edition, with Illustrations. Edited by Rowland E. Prothero. Volume 1

George Noel Gordon's title, Lord Byron, is now synonymous with independent living, tortured beauty, and detached decadence. His titillating exploits - from homoerotic interludes to incest with his half-sister to political radicalism - are alluded to and inspire his semi-autobiographical Romantic poetry. His works, which include such poems as Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, The Prisoner of Chillon, and Don Juan, were received enthusiastically during his early lifetime, before his politics and private life made him a pariah to the conservative public.