5. The Scandal of the Great Poet Who Was Into His Sister – Literally
George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (1788 – 1824), was a leading figure in the Romantic Movement. A poet, satirist, politician and peer, his poems and personality captured Europe’s imagination. Byron is one of Britain’s best poets, known and acclaimed for his brilliant use of the English language. However, he gained further fame, or infamy, by living his life as a walking scandal. He became even better-known during his lifetime for his flamboyance, amorous lifestyle, and the notoriety of his scandalous escapades with both men and women.
His most infamous scandal was a years-long incestuous relationship with his sister Augusta Leigh. Byron had seen little of her during childhood, but made up for it in spades in adulthood. The scandal bore fruit in 1814, when he fathered a daughter upon his sister, making Byron the child’s uncle, as well as father. He also liked to keep mementos of his lovers. The norm was a lock of hair from one’s object of affection. For Britain’s most flamboyant poet, eccentric aristocrat, and all-around creep, a simple lock of hair would not do. Instead, Byron liked to snip clumps of hair from his lovers’ crotches, and kept them, cataloged and labeled, in envelopes.
