From Library Journal
In this dense, scholarly work, Christensen argues that the phenomenon of "Byronism" was created by a literary system involving poet, publisher, reviewers, and readers. Moreover, this economically profitable venture was used by an emerging commercial society as a weapon in the war against the despotism of Napoleon. Eventually, in Don Juan , Byron repudiated the commercialization of his name, and this poem marks his challenge to the society that had created the cultural institution of "Byronism." The general reader with an interest in Byron is likely to be bewildered by the arcane literary and political theories that Christensen is familiar with and will feel that Wordsworth's lines "My drift I fear/ Is scarcely obvious," quoted by the author in another context, apply to this book. For academic libraries.- Bryan Aubrey, Fairfield, Ia.Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Book News, Inc.
Christensen (English, Johns Hopkins U.) draws on contemporary literary, political, and social theory in this account of the packaging and sale of Byron, the poet's increasing resistance to the constraints of "Byronism," and his eventual break with the commercial society that had made him its symbol. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.


Review
"An important book... Christensen's grasp on the historical material is impressive, and his explications of poetic passages are persuasive."-- Nineteenth Century Studies


Book Description
"Contains some of the most striking and sophisticated essays on Byron written in the last two decades... Performs a welcome intervention in the critical literature on Byron and points towards a future direction for Byron studies."-- Albion."An important book... Christensen's grasp on the historical material is impressive, and his explications of poetic passages are persuasive."-- Nineteenth Century Studies.According to Jerome Christensen, literary histories of British Romanticism have dealt inadequately with Byron's "lordship"--his singularity as a phenomenal literary success and as the last and greatest aristocratic poet in the language. At first, Byron does not want a poetic career. Then, entrapped by his extraordinary success, he gets one. And once Byron has a career, he ruins it--not by his unsavory sexual practices and political grandstanding, but by publishing his greatest poem. The first extended study of the career and persona of the most celebrated poet of the nineteenth century, Lord Byron's Strength draws on contemporary literary, political, and social theory not only to revise our understanding of Byron but also to reexamine the romanticism of Coleridge, Wordsworth, Scott, Hazlitt, and Shelley.


About the Author
Jerome Christensen is professor of English at the Johns Hopkins University. He is the author of Practicing Enlightenment: Hume and the Formation of a Literary Career.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

According to Jerome Christensen, literary histories of British Romanticism have dealt inadequately with Byron's "lordship" - his singularity as a phenomenal literary success and as the last and greatest aristocratic poet in the language. At first, Byron does not want a poetic career. Then, entrapped by his extraordinary success, he gets one. And once Byron has a career, he ruins it - not by his unsavory sexual practices and political grandstanding but by publishing his greatest poem. The first extended study of the career and persona of the most celebrated poet of the nineteenth century, Lord Byron's Strength draws on contemporary literary, political, and social theory not only to revise our understanding of Byron but also to reexamine the romanticism of Coleridge, Wordsworth, Scott, Hazlitt, and Shelley. Christensen argues that the literary system that became "Byronism" was a complicated contrivance engineered by the poet - in collaboration with his publisher, friends, reviewers, and readers - for the greater glory of a United Kingdom triumphant in the war with Napoleon. Wellington may have won on the battlefield, but the real victory for Great Britain would depend on its ability to symbolize itself in a way that would overcome foreign resistance without force of arms - that would turn enemies into consumers. Christensen contends that Byron was the predominant vehicle for that strategy. British commercial society would benefit extravagantly from the international success of Childe Harold and the glamour and appeal of its author. But Byronism was a project that - in Don Juan, his greatest poem - Byron would reject. Lord Byron's Strength is an account of the packaging and sale of Byron, the poet's increasing resistance to the constraints of Byronism, and his eventual break with the commercial society that had made him its symbol.

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal

In this dense, scholarly work, Christensen argues that the phenomenon of ``Byronism'' was created by a literary system involving poet, publisher, reviewers, and readers. Moreover, this economically profitable venture was used by an emerging commercial society as a weapon in the war against the despotism of Napoleon. Eventually, in Don Juan , Byron repudiated the commercialization of his name, and this poem marks his challenge to the society that had created the cultural institution of ``Byronism.'' The general reader with an interest in Byron is likely to be bewildered by the arcane literary and political theories that Christensen is familiar with and will feel that Wordsworth's lines ``My drift I fear/ Is scarcely obvious,'' quoted by the author in another context, apply to this book. For academic libraries.-- Bryan Aubrey, Fairfield, Ia.

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