This complete two-part biography - combining Byron in England with Byron in Exile - makes much greater use of the Letters and Journals and is, in consequence, a lively and piquant work, for Byron's letters are among the most entertaining, poignant and revealing in the language. It presents evidence from reliable witnesses only and illuminates his development as a poet, both in England and `in exile' abroad, with copious extracts from his poetry which alone should inspire the reader to ransack the works of this remarkable man.
Although his efforts to help the Italian dissidents win their freedom failed and it might be concluded that he was equally ineffectual in his efforts to assist the Greeks in their War of Independence, Byron went to Greece to serve the Greek people, not a classical ideal, and when he died, tragically and needlessly, at Mesolonghi he took his place among the pantheon of Greek heroes. Here, at last, in Byron the Maker, one of the world's most original literary figures is allowed to tell his own story.
