This is a carefully researched and well written account of three generations of a family with little but themselves to blame for their tragedies. The context of the time is well drawn too. The trouble is that the Byron family is neither well known nor of particular significance so the book is unlikely to be a popular read. A similar book about a more important and influential family would be attractive.

I found this book to be at many points too much of a good thing. There is so much information to relay and the author is obviously so passionate that the text becomes overwhelming. I understand the desire to both set the scene and also make use of what must have been staggering amounts of references but, for example in early chapters the reader is pummelled with superfluous names, so much that it becomes a difficult task keeping up with the ones that actually matter. On top of this I felt the text so choked with parentheses and quotations that it was distracting. They are a natural pause point so interrupt the momentum and when so overused did seem to ruin what could have been a more elegant flow. But the book is not the sum of these parts and after persevering I certainly learned more than I ever knew about previous generations in the Byron line, plus a bit about the infamous Lord himself. As my final book of 2019 I'm happy that it was a good one.

It started off quite well but soon launched into a confusing jumble of events, names and marriages, interspersed with quotes, and jumping forward and backwards in time. If the author had taken a more novelistic approach it would have been more interesting. As it was, I skimmed much of it, to find it did not say much about Lord Byron the poet's life and death at all!

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.

Brand has found a new angle on the oft-written about Byron: she explores his ancestors in this book and finds them equally 'mad, bad and dangerous to know'. This starts with young George arriving at Newstead Abbey before flipping back. Now that so much has been written about Byron himself, his wife and daughter, this is a good way of getting an oblique Byron fix which learning something new.

Holding off on posting the full review until closer to publication but this was an intelligent, engaging and balanced look at one of the most infamous 19th C poets. Recommended for those interested in poetry or the history of literature and its players.