Lord of the Dead: The Secret History of Byron

by Tom Holland

Book Overview

Famed nineteenth-century poet and rake Lord Byron travels to Greece and becomes the world's most formidable vampire--entering a dark, intoxicating world of ancient arts and scorching excesses of... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0671534254
• ISBN13: 9780671534257
• Release Date: January 1996
• Publisher: Pocket Books
• Length: 324 Pages
• Weight: 1.37 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.4" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Damned to Everlasting Infamy

George Gordon, better known as Lord Byron, is one of England's most famous 'Romantic' poets. He was born in 1788, the son of John Byron and Catherine Gordon, but inherited his title and property of his great-uncle in 1798. He travelled extensively throughout Europe and Asia Minor - his trips abroad included Albania, Greece and Italy - particularly when he was in trouble at home. (He piled up debts, his marriage collapsed after little over a year and caused a great deal of scandal with a series of illicit love affairs - his romantic entanglement with his half-sister, Augusta Leigh, was particularly noteworthy. In fact, it is believed that Augusta's daughter was fathered by Byron, rather than by her husband). After his marriage to Anne Milbanke failed, Byron left England in 1816. He settled in Geneva for a while - where he became friendly with Percy and Mary Shelley - before moving on to Italy. In 1824, he sailed to Greece to help in their fight for independence from the Ottoman Empire. However, Byron caught and died from a fever before seeing any action. "The Vampyre" tells Byron's life story, though from a slightly different angle. Byron, as it turns out, never actually died and the book sees him telling his story to Rebecca Carville. He covers what he feels to be the key period of his existence, beginning with the trip to Greece where he became a vardoulacha - a vampire - and finishing with his faked death in Greece. Although the story is (obviously) embellished, Holland clearly had done his research before writing this book. It features Byron's most notable love affairs, his friendships with John Hobhouse and the Shellys, even the feeble contribution of his rather pitiful doctor, Polidor. In all honesty, I enjoyed how Holland wove Byron's `real' life into the story more than the vampire angle...in fact, the thought of a vampire playing such a key role in the `creation' of Frankenstein was something I found quite funny. All in all, a very readable story, though it won't necessarily keep you awake at night.

Brilliant, delightful, haunting and evocative

A brilliant debut As an avid fan of Lord Byron I couldn't wait to start reading this novel as soon as it was published. I have read this book many times and it never fails to surprise me. I have also read "Slave of My Thirst", equally impressive. I have always been fascinated with the notion of Lord Byron being a vampire. His writings, full of passion, emotion, melancholy and ire makes me think of an individual who lives in a realm outside our own. His character defies rational understanding, even today after his death, and unusual burial, no one can say for certain who Lord Byron really was. Byron a murderer? Maybe under the influence of opium. Eternal beauty? Beauty is not ours to possess. A victim of deceit? Who isn't? Byron, an immortal? He is! I truly enjoyed Lord Byron's retelling of his story. I envy Rebecca Carvillle who met him in her family crypt looking for Lord Byron's original writings. Tom Holland describes the wanderings of Lord Byron in his youth. Byron with his friend Hobhouse meets a strange man who arouses Byron's attention. So powerful is their attraction that Byron is chosen to receive tremedous powers, beyond his wildest imagination. From Viena to London, Tom Holland describes Byron's wanderings with the usual sensuality attributed to the great poet. Power brings boredom and boredom, decadence, until finally Byron realizes that power and beauty comes with a terrible prize... What a tale!I miss the nights I used to spend working alone in a hospital laboratory, wondering if Lord Byron lurked in the dark hallways looking for blood specimens. Such is the power of this book. A Gothic story, written in a language worthy of the great poet. Tom Holland has the creativity to match Byron's own. Through his gripping story, I wonder how anyone would feel having a conversation with a vampire inside a crypt. This novel and "Slave of my Thirst" are among the best horror novels I have read repeatedly over the years!

The downward spiral into sadness

I would like to distance myself from all of the negative criticisms of this novel; as valid as they may truly be.I am not a 'reader' in the sense of actually liking to pick up a book and read it as a source of leisure and entertainment and even when it does happen, I am rarely if at all convinced that what I was reading was indeed a good use of my time. But, one day I bought a lot of vampire novels to read to pass the time at work. All of which were terribly written, full of cliches, gory descriptions and dull charactors. All except this one.The book starts off with Ms. Rebecca Carville, a strong willed young woman who conives her way into aquiring the keys to the Chapel of St. Jude, which has been locked and forbidden to be entered by anyone for many years. She hopes to uncover the truth of what happened to her Mother, who disappeared when Rebecca was only 4 years old. Despite frantic warnings not to enter the chapel, Rebecca desends into the shadowy depths only to find herself in the prescence of powerful and radiantly beautiful vampire,Lord Byron.From that point on, the point of view is shifted from 3rd person to 1st, as Lord Byron tells Rebecca the story of how he came to be who he is today. Living the life of a monk whose greatest pleasure is the sin of eating pork, The 21 year old Lord Byron becomes bored with his life and sets out traveling the east with his friend, Hobhouse.While in Greece, they accidentally are led to off course to Aheron, which is known as "The gateway to Hell". Entranced by a mysterious stranger, Byron decides to continue to Aheron while Hobhouse returns to Greece. He falls in love with a beautiful slave named Haidee who has been enslaved by The power Pasha, the dread-lord of the Aheron. The Pasha is quite taken by Byron from the start and wants Lord Byron to be his heir. While staying at the Pasha's palace, Byron is visited in his dreams by the Pasha, who tempts him with hidden truths and ideals and immortality. It isn't long before Byron finds himself being treated like a slave; his mind clouded by vivid dreams, and strange marks and bruises appearing daily all over his body.But in their love stems hope and Byron and Haidee plot their escape. Will they make it safely out of Aheron? Sadly the end is only the beginning.As a vardoulacha( vampire ), Byron drowns himself in the dark side of life { ie: Booze, sex, and more sex, and not to mention a little murder through draining of blood but ONLY for necessity. } He relishes in the pleasures and powers that he now posesses, but soon realizes that the benefits will never outway the downfalls of his state. He has to drink blood or he will shrivel up and feel agonizing pain but never die, in order to maintain his youth he must drink the blood of someone who shares his blood, and the greatest curse of all; that he will forever damn everyone he loves.I think what it is that I like so much about this book as opposed to other books of the genre is how You first get to relate to B

One that can't be put down.

Things in the current world we live in was changed in my eyes after I read this book. This has to be the best book that I have ever read, Tom Holland has truelly mesmorized me with his outstanding writing skills, and how well he touches into the realm of the vampire. When reading this book, I felt things that I have never felt, felt like I was in Byron's shoes, living his life...it was truelly a great feeling.

HIGHLY RECOMMEND

This book was great I loved it. LORD of the DEAD was very interesting(I couldnt putit down).Tom Holland did a great job with this book. For all u people who love BYRON & VAMPIRES buy this book.