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anpu325's review
4.0
This book was great! It was hard to put down and engagingly written. I don't think I've ever binged a nonfiction book this fast! My only disappointment was that the most famous Byron (the poet) was basically only a footnote, which was not what I was expecting while going into this book. However, the lives of his family members who were previously unknown to me made for a compulsive and enjoyable read nonetheless!
sophietica's review
3.0
3.5 really. I did enjoy the family history, but it meandered quite a bit. There was a lot of drama in the family, but it feels like the content has been padded to bring it up to book length.
zarco_j's review
3.0
The Fall of the House of Byron follows the fates of Lord Byron's ancestors over three generations in a drama that begins in rural Nottinghamshire and plays out in the gentlemen's clubs of Georgian London, amid tempests on far-flung seas, and in the glamour of pre-revolutionary France.
An engaging look at the history of Lord Byron's ancestors. Interesting and full of little known facts.
Would I recommend? Yes
Would I read again? Probably not
I was able to get an advanced digital copy of this in exchange for my honest and unbiased review. All opinions are my own.
An engaging look at the history of Lord Byron's ancestors. Interesting and full of little known facts.
Would I recommend? Yes
Would I read again? Probably not
I was able to get an advanced digital copy of this in exchange for my honest and unbiased review. All opinions are my own.
jayfr's review
3.0
The Fall of the House of Byron follows the fates of Lord Byron's ancestors over three generations in a drama that begins in rural Nottinghamshire and plays out in the gentlemen's clubs of Georgian London, amid tempests on far-flung seas, and in the glamour of pre-revolutionary France.
An engaging look at the history of Lord Byron's ancestors. Interesting and full of little known facts.
Would I recommend? Yes
Would I read again? Probably not
I was able to get an advanced digital copy of this in exchange for my honest and unbiased review. All opinions are my own.
An engaging look at the history of Lord Byron's ancestors. Interesting and full of little known facts.
Would I recommend? Yes
Would I read again? Probably not
I was able to get an advanced digital copy of this in exchange for my honest and unbiased review. All opinions are my own.
lateromantic's review
adventurous
informative
medium-paced
3.75
A pretty quick biography about the poet Byron's family and house. Some fantastic characters, though the quality of the family tree and the fact it wasn't linked in the ToC meant it was a bit hard to follow along at some points.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Death, Colonisation, and Murder
Minor: Incest, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Slavery, Abandonment, Addiction, Bullying, Classism, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Terminal illness, and Toxic friendship
clazbee's review
adventurous
funny
informative
fast-paced
4.5
I thoroughly enjoyed this! My only critique would be that I wished it was longer and covered poet Byron’s life too, as Emily Brand’s writing is as entertaining as it is informative.
jmatkinson1's review
4.0
The Lord Byron that everyone remembers is the romantic poet who died fighting for the independence of Greece in the mid-19th century. However this George Byron was only the next in the line of reckless and profligate members of a diverse noble family who fell from power and riches over the preceding hundred years or so. This is an incredibly well-researched biography of that family following the escapades of various members through love, marriage, wild parties, scandal and poverty ending with the inheritance by a part-crippled, obscure heir. The family seat of Newstead Abbey is described with reverence and joy, the battles on the lake, the lack of funds allowing it to fall into the ruin depicted in the famous poem, and the story of the old retainer Joe Murray who saw so many of the family. I really enjoyed this book as the characters are so full of joie-de-vivre that they feel fictional, scandal follows scandal, and yet all of it is true and it offers a fascinating insight into high society in the 18th century.
pam_sartain's review
4.0
The Fall of the House of Byron; Scandal and Seduction in Georgian England by Emily Brand tells the stories of Lord Byron's ancestors, who were just as scandalous as he was! If you're looking for a book about Lord Byron's life, this isn't it. It is referenced, but assumes you know about it already.
If you're looking for background on Lord Byron's family, or stories from Georgian times of elopement, murder, debt and adventures at sea, then this is a great book for you!
The Fall of the House of Byron was published on 16th April 2020, and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.
You can follow Emily Brand on Twitter, Facebook and her website.
I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, and so many thanks to NetGalley and to John Murray Press.
If you're looking for background on Lord Byron's family, or stories from Georgian times of elopement, murder, debt and adventures at sea, then this is a great book for you!
The Fall of the House of Byron was published on 16th April 2020, and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.
You can follow Emily Brand on Twitter, Facebook and her website.
I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, and so many thanks to NetGalley and to John Murray Press.
fiendfull's review
3.0
The Fall of the House of Byron is a portrait of the lives of the Byron family in the eighteenth century, leading up to the point at which the famous poet inherits the title Lord Byron at the age of ten. From the 4th Baron Byron William at Newstead Abbey at the start of the century to his son William, the 'Wicked Lord', dying at the end of it, the book follows marriage, scandal, murder, and war through generations of siblings and cousins as the Byrons lose reputation and money amidst the backdrop of the events of the century.
The cover and title of the book set it up as a different way of looking at Lord Byron, venturing deep into the lives of his ancestors and using him only as a framing device and focus point. Due to this, the book gets most interesting when focusing on the figures you know are going to be important in relation to the poet—particularly his father Jack—and in the inevitability of who has to die for him to end up inheriting the title. The book seems comprehensive and provides insight into interpersonal relationships and scandal in the Georgian period, but particularly near the start (when there's less scandal) it can feel a bit like a lot of facts about when people are born or marry.
Perhaps less scandalous than could be expected for anyone who has read about Byron himself, this is a detailed account of how a family fell in various ways across a century. Though not a surprise to those interested in Byron (who are presumably the target audience of the book), it shows that he didn't just come from a straightforward aristocratic family, but one full of the scandal he was known for and who didn't have the money or reputation they once had.
The cover and title of the book set it up as a different way of looking at Lord Byron, venturing deep into the lives of his ancestors and using him only as a framing device and focus point. Due to this, the book gets most interesting when focusing on the figures you know are going to be important in relation to the poet—particularly his father Jack—and in the inevitability of who has to die for him to end up inheriting the title. The book seems comprehensive and provides insight into interpersonal relationships and scandal in the Georgian period, but particularly near the start (when there's less scandal) it can feel a bit like a lot of facts about when people are born or marry.
Perhaps less scandalous than could be expected for anyone who has read about Byron himself, this is a detailed account of how a family fell in various ways across a century. Though not a surprise to those interested in Byron (who are presumably the target audience of the book), it shows that he didn't just come from a straightforward aristocratic family, but one full of the scandal he was known for and who didn't have the money or reputation they once had.