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By 1809, Lord Byron found himself untethered and debt-ridden. Disenchanted with politics, frustrated by his literary career and haunted by his illicit homosexuality, he abandoned an oppressive England and set out upon his legendary Eastern adventure. First plunging into a Europe torn asunder by the exploits of his hero, Napoleon Bonaparte, Byron decried the imperialist militarism of the raging Napoleonic Wars. Nevertheless, he delighted in the danger and excitement of his travels, absorbing and subsuming the cultures he encountered, and exploring a predilection for transvestism. From Portugal and the Peninsula War, Byron travelled to Albania where he fascinated the infamous Ali Pasha, and then later charmed the Sultan of Constantinople. In Greece, he found a land of exotic romanticism where his growing sense of destiny took root in the Greek\u2019s fight for liberty. At last, in 1811 Byron returned to England and published his poem,\xa0Childe Harold\u2019s Pilgrimage. Almost overnight he became the most famous man in London. Byromania had engulfed the nation\u2026\n\nJoin Tom and Dominic as they discuss Lord Byron\u2019s remarkable travels abroad - his encounters with some of the most famous men of the age, his confrontations with danger and destiny, and his untethered eroticism\u2026\n\n\n\n*The Rest Is History LIVE in 2024*\nTom and Dominic are back onstage this summer, at Hampton Court Palace in London!\n\nBuy your tickets here: therestishistory.com\n\nTwitter:\n@TheRestHistory\n@holland_tom\n@dcsandbrook\n\nProducer: Theo Young-Smith\nAssistant Producer: Tabby Syrett\nExecutive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices