In 1816, following the scandalous collapse of his marriage, Lord Byron left England forever. His first destination was the Villa Diodati by Lake Geneva where he stayed together with Percy Bysshe Shelley, Mary Godwin, Claire Clairmont and John Polidori. Byron in Geneva focuses sharply on the poet’s life in the summer of that year, a famous time for meteorologists (for whom 1816 is the year without a summer), but also that crucial moment in the development of his writing when, urged on by Shelley, Byron tried to transform himself into a Romantic poet of the Wordsworthian variety. The book gives a vivid impression of what Byron thought and felt in these few months after the breakdown of his marriage, but also explores the different aspects of his nature that emerge in contact with a remarkable cast of supporting characters, which also included Madame de Staël, who presided over a famous salon in Coppet, across the lake from Geneva, and Matthew Lewis, author of the splendidly erotic `Gothic’ best-seller, The Monk. David Ellis sets out to challenge recent damning studies of Byron and through his meticulous exploration of the private and public life of the poet at this pivotal moment, he reasserts the value of Byron’s wit, warm-heartedness, and hatred of cant.

A brilliantly detailed retelling of the personal and literary crisis in Byron's life. Vivid, sympathetic and judicious, this remarkable book is a provocative counter to recent biographical and critical studies.

Jenny Uglow

By synthesising multiple perspectives ... and by giving himself space to explore some of the summer's bit-part players in more detail, Ellis certainly succeeds in adding colour and detail to a well-known story.... Because of its extraordinary confluence of ideas and personalities, its story is one that bears retelling.

Daisy Hay Source: Literary Review

David Ellis's account of Byron's time with Shelley and others in Geneva may be forgiven its myth-making subtitle. His manyvoiced account of the Genevan summer provides a welcome refinement of Byron's biography, in reminding us just how elusive his character remains.

Tom Durno Source: Times Literary Supplement