Book Review: Byron's War: Romantic Rebellion, Greek Revolution

Archives

by Roderick Beaton

New York: Cambridge University Press, 2014. Pp. xviii, 338. Illus., maps, notes, biblio., index. $27.99 paper. ISBN: 1107470382

Lord Byron at War

Essentially the first book to seriously look at Byron’s experiences during the Greek War for Independence, although primarily focused on Byron’s activities and the country’s influence on his life and writings, in telling that story, Prof. Beaton (Richard Stockton) does more.  He also gives the reader a rather comprehensive overview of the opening years of the Greek War for Independence (1821-1824), in which the poet was deeply involved , a subject largely overlooked in English historical literature .

 
Beaton’s account of the war naturally reflects Byron’s role, which, despite the poet’s apparent desires, was not a combatant one.  So while Beaton gives us an outline of the military events, we learn much more about conditions under Ottoman rule, the politics and diplomacy of revolution, the complexities of forging a common “front” from among several Greek factions, and revolutionary finance, a matter in which Byron’s great personal wealth played an important role. 

In addition to Byron, Beaton also introduces us to quite a number of interesting, now largely forgotten characters, Ali Pasha, the Gamba family, Alexandros Mavrocordatos, and more.  So despite some limitations, given the lack of a good recent English history of the Greek War for Independence, Byron’s War is likely to be of value to those interested in popular revolutionary movements and organization, the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, and 19th century international revolutionary volunteerism.

Note: Byron’s War is also available in hardback, $50.00, ISBN 978-1-107-03308-5

---///---

Reviewer: A.A. Nofi, Review Editor   


Buy it at Amazon.com

X

ad

Help Keep Us From Drying Up

We need your help! Our subscription base has slowly been dwindling.

Each month we count on your contributions. You can support us in the following ways:

  1. Make sure you spread the word about us. Two ways to do that are to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
  2. Subscribe to our daily newsletter. We’ll send the news to your email box, and you don’t have to come to the site unless you want to read columns or see photos.
  3. You can contribute to the health of StrategyPage.
Subscribe   Contribute   Close