Lord Byron's Heartbreaks

George Gordon, Lord Byron (1788-1824), was one of the major poets of the Romantic era. He was – and remains – undeniably influential, through his poetic works as well as his ‘private’ life, which projected him to fame through his various raunchy affairs and controversial partnerships.

Whilst he remained prominent in public discussion, with his perspectives and experiences published widely across the globe through poems such as ‘Child Harold’s Pilgrimage’ and ‘When we two parted’, the women (and men) who he left behind in his destructive reign of hedonism, and the pain that he caused them, has been much less documented.

Byron’s life has been heavily romanticised, with the Byronic hero continuing to be a highly popular figure today, illustrated by characters like Captain Jack Sparrow, Severus Snape, and Doctor House; arrogant, intelligent, educated outcasts, who somehow balance their cynicism and self-destructive tendencies with a mysterious magnetism and attraction, particularly for heroines.[1]

In comparison, the lives and experiences of his partners have been downplayed, and the painful heartache which he bestowed upon them has been dismissed in light of his story. This cabinet aims to bring awareness to the string of broken hearts which Byron created.

This cabinet pays a great deal of attention towards Caroline Lamb (1785-1828), due to the amount of source material which can be accessed, telling us of one of Byron’s more public-facing affairs. We know that, through her distress and desperation to hold onto Byron’s romantic attention, she went to extremes such as sending him a heart-shaped locket filled with her pubic hair. Clara Tuite summarises this intense reaction initiated by heartbreak, stating that ‘Lamb’s pledges of devotion are also commands and veiled threats, urgent requests for love to be reciprocated, and invitations to clarify meaning, even to shed blood in its name,’ and places Caroline into the roles of ‘fan, lover, stalker… and mistress of publicly and scandalous celebrity.’[2]

Alongside Caroline Lamb, other notable women include Anne Isabella Milbanke (1792-1860) who Byron was married to for four years and had his only legitimate daughter with. He was known to have become violent towards her, and fearing that he had become mad, she divorced him. Additionally, Clare Claremont (1798-1879), the stepsister of Mary Shelley with whom Byron had an illegitimate daughter, is another well-known woman exposed to Byron’s recklessness.

Unfortunately, for the vast majority of women Byron engaged with, and whose hearts he broke and disposed of, we do not know their names, or their stories.