Volume 1
Part of Byron's Works
a New, Revised and Enlarged Edition,with Illustrations.
This volume edited byRowland E. Prothero
1898
Two great collections of Byron's letters have been already printed. InMoore's
Life
, which appeared in 1830, 561 were given. These, inFitzGreene Halleck's American edition of Byron's
Works
, publishedin 1847, were increased to 635. The first volume of a third collection,edited by Mr. W. E. Henley, appeared early in 1897. A comparison of thenumber of letters contained in these three collections down to August22, 1811, shows that Moore prints 61, Halleck 78, and Mr. Henley 88. Inother words, the edition of 1897, which was the most complete so far asit goes, added 27 letters to that of 1830, and 10 to that of 1847. Butit should be remembered that by far the greater part of the materialadded by Halleck and Mr. Henley was seen and rejected by Moore.
The present edition, down to August 22, 1811, prints 168 letters, or anaddition of 107 to Moore, 90 to Halleck, and 80 to Mr. Henley. Of thisadditional matter considerably more than two-thirds was inaccessible toMoore in 1830.
In preparing this volume for the press, use has been also made of a massof material, bearing more or less directly on Byron's life, which wasaccumulated by the grandfather and father of Mr. Murray. The notes thuscontain, it is believed, many details of biographical interest, whichare now for the first time published.
It is necessary to make these comparisons, in order to define theposition which this edition claims to hold with regard to itspredecessors. On the other hand, no one can regret more sincerely thanmyself — no one has more cause to regret — the circumstances which placedthis wealth of new material in my hands rather than in those of the truepoet and brilliant critic, who, to enthusiasm for Byron, and wideacquaintance with the literature and social life of the day, adds therarer gift of giving life and significance to bygone events or trivialdetails by unconsciously interesting his readers in his own livingpersonality.
Byron's letters appeal on three special grounds to all lovers of Englishliterature. They offer the most suggestive commentary on his poetry;they give the truest portrait of the man; they possess, at their best,in their ease, freshness, and racy vigour, a very high literary value.
The present volume, which covers the period from 1798 to August, 1811,includes the letters written Lord B