The Scandalous Life of Lord Byron

The Scandalous Life of Lord Byron

From Dan Snow's History Hit by History Hit

May 4, 2026 · 44 min · Episode 1787

About this episode

This episode explores the scandalous life of Lord Byron, revealing the complexities of his character and reputation.

WARNING: This episode includes discussion of sexual abuse and explicit language. He appalled and titillated Regency polite society in equal measure. Lord Byron was a poet, a lover, a rebel, a romantic, an appalling husband and eventually a freedom fighter. He made terrible decisions, was notoriously bad-tempered and treated women and men appallingly. Yet, everybody who met him fell in love with him. Dan is joined by Dr Kate Lister, historian and host of the Betwixt the Sheets podcast, to unravel the many phases and contradictions of Lord Byron's complicated life in an attempt to discover the man behind the scandalous reputation. Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore. We need your help! Let us know what you want from Dan Snow's History Hit by filling in our anonymous survey here: https://forms.gle/PvgayWLkWGjYT4St6 Dan Snow's History Hit is now available on YouTube! Check it out at: https://www.youtube.com/@DSHHPodcast Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe . You can also email the podcast directly at ds.hh@historyhit.com…

People in this episode

Host: Dan Snow

Guest: Dr Kate Lister

Topics covered

  • Lord Byron
  • Regency society
  • poetry
  • romanticism
  • historical figures
  • scandal

Keywords

  • Lord Byron
  • poet
  • Regency
  • scandal
  • historian
  • sexual abuse
  • romantic
  • freedom fighter

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Betwixt the Sheets

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