The Last Days of Lord Byron : with his Lordship's opinions on various subjects, particularly on the State and Prospects of Greece
London: Knight and Lacey, 1825. 1st ed. octavo, half-leather binding with marbled sides, spine decorated and lettered in gilt, pp xxiii, 460. There are no plates in this copy. Sides rubbed, light rubbing to corners and head and foot of spine, a light scarape to the rear bottom corner. Pencilled ownership signature halfitle page, generally clean and bright, binding firm. Very good condition.
William Parry was a military engineer who became the major of Byron's brigade in Missologhi (the centre of Byron's support for the struggle for Greek independence). "The Last Days of Lord Byron" is an account of Byron's illness in 1824, the people surrounding him, and a record of his opinions, with reflections on the situation in Greece. The book has an epigraph from Count Gamba referring to Parry's presence at Parry's deathbed. "Parry kept Byron's accounts, and is said to have been his favourite butt at Missolonghi; he appears, however, to have repaid familiarity with devotion, and to have faithfully nursed the poet in his last illness" (DNB). "Parry published The Last Days of Lord Byron to shore up his finances, but also to commemorate Byron’s actions and revenge himself upon those who had undermined Byron’s plans for Greece." (It was alleged at the time of publication, however, that Parry himself did not and could not have written the book: this led to legal proceedings for libel.) An interesting firsthand account of Byron. Item #105829
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