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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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Don Juan
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(1819–24) *Byron's longest poem, published in parts from 1819 but incomplete at his death (though by then amounting to 16 cantos or some 500 pages). The hero is amorous but not predatory, unlike his famous namesake. His drifting adventures – on a Greek pirate island, in the courts of Turkey and Russia, and eventually in London – provide the poet with a broad canvas on which to record his comments on life. The mood is satirical, with mockery constantly undermining pretension (including that of poetry itself – 'Hail, Muse! et cetera' are the opening words of Canto 3). A few subjects remain too serious for deflation. One such is Greek independence, the theme of verses in Canto 3 which have become widely known under the title of their opening words, The Isles of Greece.
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