The Fall of the House of Byron: Scandal and Seduction in Georgian England

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Whether in court proceedings or negotiating private settlements, Emily delivers results for her clients, always focusing on their specific needs and concerns. Brand should be commended for her command of detail and use of often extremely obscure period sources to illuminate both character and setting. She advises UHNW individuals on cases involving complex assets and structures including family businesses, offshore trusts, private equity and hedge funds. At the beginning of each chapter, for example, there are short narrative passages - perhaps recounting Isabella’s passionate feelings for her lover or evoking a storm at sea - which have an almost cinematic quality to them.

As the book’s title suggests, the key thread running through this story is how the Byron dynasty fell from fortune through a combination of scandalous behaviour, financial ruin and cruel fate. One of the most memorable and affecting sections of the book is the account of his experiences when he was stranded with his crew in South America after the wreck of the HMS Wager in 1741.

His family, he would come to learn, had in recent decades become known for almost unfathomable levels of scandal and impropriety, from elopement, murder, and kidnapping to adultery, coercion, and thrilling near-death experiences at sea. She also notes that the bond between Byron and Augusta was, in part, informed by interest in their shared ancestry and sense of family legacy.

Having worked on the ground-breaking case of Radmacher v Granatino (concerning a German prenuptial contract), she has unique expertise in restricting access to wealth (via nuptial agreements) or unlocking it. James Ferguson is highly experienced at handling complex divorces and high-value matrimonial financial disputes. Emily is known for her creative and discreet approach acting in high profile cases often involving extensive wealth or complex issues concerning children including international relocation.She advises on cases involving family businesses or private equity and has worked on several ground-breaking cases. Her pandemic-published first major work, The Fall of the House of Byron , was selected as BBC Radio 4’s 'Book of the Week', and as a 'Book of the Year' by the The Sunday Times, The Mail on Sunday and BBC History Magazine.

Emily Brand is also representing an entrepreneur who is resisting a set aside application in the High Court relating to a divorce settlement that was concluded several years ago. This comes as no surprise as high-profile figures, including members of international royalty, count as clients. I imagine that many people will come to this book because they are interested in Byron the poet, but readers should be aware that, although the impact of his family legacy is considered, he is not the main focus. The Fall of the House of Byron follows the fates of Lord Byron’s ancestors over three generations in a drama that begins in rural Nottinghamshire and plays out in the gentlemen’s clubs of Georgian London, amid tempests on far-flung seas, and in the glamour of pre-revolutionary France. More and more owners of digital assets are starting to consider how they can pass the assets on as part of their succession planning.She also has particular expertise and interest in advising on disputes concerning children on the autism spectrum. Sarah Dent is currently studying for an MA in Literature of the Romantic Period at the University of York, specialising in the lives and work of the second generation. I take part in The Catford Arts trail annually and in the last few years have been placed at Ninth Life (a pub in Catford) and I help to run the annual art exhibition at Beckenham Place Mansion, which is part of the park’s annual flower show. It was the abode of William the 4th Baron Byron – a popular and successful composer and artist – and his teenage wife Frances.

William, known as ‘The Wicked Lord’, was an unpopular and eccentric figure who caused the family name to become associated with scandal - partly due to his trial for murder - and he steadily laid waste to the family’s fortune and estate at Newstead Abbey in Nottinghamshire.The 4th Baron and most of his relatives had died, leaving the incumbent owner, William the 5th Baron Byron (the ‘Wicked Lord’), lying on his deathbed alongside his last remaining servant and amidst a thriving population of crickets. Although I loved teaching, I was finding it impossible to do anything else and had only painted 8 paintings in the period that I worked there. Harriet Errington has led on a number of substantial family matters for a mixture of UK and international clients, while Alexandra Hirst represents clients on cases with complex asset structures and offshore elements.