Politician or Poet? The 6th L ord B yron in the House of Lords, 1809–13

Bibliographic Data

ID9328403
AuthorsJ V Beckett (0000-0001-9087-0998, University of Nottingham, corresponding author), John Beckett (University of Nottingham)
Year2015
Volume34
Issue2
Pages201-217
Publication date2015-06-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueParliamentary History (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0264-2824 • E-ISSN: 1750-0206
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/1750-0206.12139
OpenAlexW2098792811
LanguageEN
Citations received12

L ord G eorge G ordon B yron, 6th B aron B yron of R ochdale, is known internationally as, perhaps, the most famous R omantic poet of his generation. His work continues to be read across the globe. As a peer (succeeding to the title following the death of his great uncle, the 5th B aron B yron, in 1798) he was entitled to a seat in the L ords, and this article covers the period during which he was active in the H ouse. He took his seat in 1809, but most of his work in the Lords took place between early 1812 and the summer of 1813. Thereafter, his financial troubles, his stellar literary career, and his personal problems, led him to spend little or no time in the H ouse, and he lived abroad between 1816 and his death in 1824. In 1812, before he had become known for his poetry, except among a small L ondon elite, he began actively to cultivate a political career, and he made his maiden speech on the F ramework K nitters B ill in 1812. B yron was a prolific letter writer, and from his published correspondence as well as other sources of contemporary information, it is possible to document his growing career in the upper House, and to see how a young peer might make his way into politics in the absence of a particular sponsor

Art · Elite · Globe · Literature · Poetry · Political science · Politics · Sociology · History · Law · Medicine · Philippine History and Culture · Travel Writing and Literature

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