Narrative

Popular Poets

2. In July 1809, Byron left England on a tour of Portugal, Spain, Gibraltar, Malta, Albania, and Greece. During this time, he wrote the first two cantos of Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, the poem that would make him famous. The first two cantos were published on March 3, 1812 and the first edition of five hundred copies sold out in only three days. Readers and critics were quick to identify Byron in his hero, sparking further fascination with the poet’s scandalous private life. This volume of The Pocket Magazine of Classic and Polite Literature (1:1818) includes engravings for Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, The Corsair, and Lara.