FALL OF THE HOUSE OF BYRON

In 1798, a small, pudgy boy of ten inherited the crumbling ruin Newstead Abbey, with a handful of servants and a thriving population of crickets. George Gordon's forbears had become known for almost unfathomable levels of scandal and impropriety, from elopement, murder, and kidnapping to adultery, coercion and thrilling near-death experiences at sea. This is the shocking and outlandish story of three generations of the Byron family - and the myths that rose around them - which would shape their most famous scion's life and poetry for posterity.