The Kindness of Sisters

The Kindness of Sisters: Annabella Milbanke and the Destruction of the Byrons by David Crane. Published by Alfred A Knopf, New York, NY, 2002. 1st American Edition. Hardbound. Paper DJ. Size 8vo (up to 9-1/2'' tall). Condition: Fine in Good DJ. 290 Pgs. ISBN 0375406484. LCCN 2002022815. A stunningly original account, revolutionary in technique, examining the character of the great Romantic poet Lord Byron through the lives and deadly rivalry of the two women he left behind. The heart of this account is the lifelong feud between Augusta, Byron's half sister with whom he had a passionate affair, and Annabella, his society wife, both of whom bore him daughters. The author re-imagines the famous meeting between the two women years after Byron's death, a chillingly dramatic scene through which he explores the emotional and sexual truths that lay at the center of these tragic relationships. In the encounter between the two women, one in chronic ill health, the other dying, we have the ultimate display of their mutual obsession with the memory and compulsive influence of Byron that makes their story that of the Romantic Age itself.In the meeting of the two women and the consequences of their battle, the author shows us the Romantic Age in its terrible collision with the new world of the Victorians. Description text copyright 2012 www.BooksForComfort.net. Item ID 26247.