Dr. Kate Lister
๐ค SpeakerAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
So they put together this huge portfolio of information as to why she should be separated from Byron.
Lady Caroline Lamb turns up as well to throw her two pence in because when they'd been having this affair, Byron confessed to her that when he'd been in Greece and Turkey, he'd been having sex with lots of men and boys and that he'd been having sex with men and boys since he was at
Harrow and at university.
So she's got all of this information.
There's claims that he tried to sodomize his wife as well.
All of this is not good.
They will stand for adultery.
That's pretty standard, but accusations of sodomy and same-sex relationships will absolutely not do at this time.
So he's got to get out of town and fast.
He heads off to the Mediterranean initially.
He's good friends with Percy Bysshe Shelley, we should also say, another rogue, who's also traipsing around Europe with a small gaggle of teenage girls with him, claiming free love for all.
So I think there's a stopover in Geneva where the famous Frankenstein incident happens.
happens that they all stay up one night writing scary stories.
And Mary Shelley quite spectacularly comes up with Frankenstein.
But we should say as well, during all of this mess, he has managed to find time to have another illicit affair with Mary Shelley's half-sister called Claire Claremont, who also becomes infatuated with him, enamored with him and pregnant.
And she elopes with the Shelleys and then Byron goes to stay with them where this affair continues.
And she gives birth to a baby girl called Allegra,
who Byron, again, I'm afraid, is a complete shit.
He eventually abandons Claire, saying, well, what could I possibly have done?
She wanted to have sex with me.