Conservations of Lord Byron : Noted During a Residence with His Lordship at Pisa, in the Years 1821 and 1822.

MEDWIN, Thomas:

Published by London: Henry Colburn: New edition published the same year as the 1st, 1824

About this Item

8vo., xxiv, 351pp. + ciii appendix, [1], frontispiece facsimile of the hand-writing of Lord Byron, a few light occasional marks to title, bound in good quality twentieth century half morocco over marbled boards, spine titled in gilt in compartments. A VG+ tightly bound copy. Ex Libris Vivian de Sola Pinto with his bookplate to upper pastedown. Shelley introduced Medwin to Lord Byron on 20 November 1821 and it is clear that Byron was impressed with the personable Medwin and they were to form a lasting friendship. Medwin and Byron enjoyed the company of different women as can be seen by their correspondence with each other and formed a male bond that was missing from Medwin s relationship with Shelley. He joined Byron for episodes of pistol shooting and riding and dined within Byron s inner circle with other friends that included Shelley, Edward E Williams, Leigh Hunt and the recently arrived Edward John Trelawney. The latter would feature as friend and rival throughout Medwin s long life as both sought to be arbiters of Byron s reputation. The restless Medwin moved to Paris in 1824 where he met Washington Irving, the American author who shared his enthusiasm for Lord Byron and for the Spanish poets particularly Calderon and a lasting correspondence was formed. It was shortly afterwards that Medwin learned of the death of Lord Byron on 19 April 1824. The news of Byron s death had been published in London on 15 May and by 10 July Medwin had compiled a volume, his Conversations of Lord Byron. The manuscript had received short shrift from Mary Shelley and many other critics. John Galt and William Harness published negative appraisals in Blackwood's Magazine for November, and John Cam Hobhouse wrote a withering assault on Medwin, published in the Westminster Review for January 1825, questioning the veracity of much of the book's contents.Lady Caroline Lamb, one of Byron s most important mistresses was deeply upset by Medwin s comments and wrote him letters putting her view of their affair to him. John Murray (1778-1843) the Scottish publisher and member of the publishing house that owned the copyright to Byron's works was also outraged at the revelations and threatened to sue. (Murray had destroyed Byron's memoirs as being unfit for publication.) However there were supporters, and it was well received by several eminent writers including Sir Samuel Egerton Brydges who included in his edition of Edward Phillips Theatrum Petarum Anglicanorum a memoir of Shelley, written by Medwin. Leigh Hunt, as might be expected, took a more tolerant view of Medwin in Lord Byron and his Contemporaries (1828) and since the publication of Byron s letters in Thomas Moore's biography(1830/31)[ and Lady Blessington's Conversations(1832 33) Medwin's recollections of Byron have come to be seen, if not always faithful in detail, as an essentially accurate portrayal. Although the book was certainly a piece of populist opportunism by Medwin and it affected his relationships with some of his friends, it proved a tremendous financial success. There were at least twelve reprints in the United States and it was published in Germany, France and Italy.

Seller Inventory # 3700

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Conservations of Lord Byron : Noted During a Residence with His Lordship at Pisa, in the Years 1821 and 1822.
• Publisher: London: Henry Colburn: New edition published the same year as the 1st
• Publication Date: 1824
• Binding: Soft cover
• Edition: 2nd Edition
• Condition: Very Good
• Seller catalogs:
  • Literature
  • Antiquarian