As it's National Poetry Day, I thought I'd share a few thoughts on Byron. The celebrity cult of Lord Byron began while he was still alive, boomed when he died, and still continues today. He remains an object of fascination, scandal, and appeal. I've been interested in him since I first read about him in a "Famous People" encyclopaedia. It was a children's book, so it did not explore the more infamous aspects of his life. But it was enough to inspire me to delve further into research on the man and the myth - including the puzzle of the mirror . Ultimately, Byron went on to become a major inspiration for my first published book Day's Dying Glory , right down to its title. His early poems (generally my favourite ones) feature heavily in the book, and I enjoyed weaving in lines and references which Byron-fans would spot where others might not even notice them. Poets and poetry have inspired hundreds of writers. It is fascinating that language can be so power...
It's always easy when imagining history to assume that people spoke and acted differently from the way they do now. And, of course, that's largely true, in the sense that the language is permanently changing and that different fixations worm their ways into our day-to-day lives. But that's not to say attitudes have changed all that much. According to many, many Facebook memes, Cicero once wrote, "Times are bad. Children no longer obey their parents, and everyone is writing a book." I am not a Classics scholar so will hold my hands up and say that I haven't verified whether this quote is accurately attributed, or whether someone else wrote it. But the fact remains: people don't change. Everyone looks back on a previous time and thinks things were so much better then. The film Midnight In Paris explores this perfectly. So, it's always wonderful when you find a historical series which doesn't take itself too seriously and, in the process, is acciden...