Editorial

If there were ever any doubt about the range and quality of current scholarship in Byron studies then it is removed by a glance through the present issue of The Byron Journal. Contained within the following pages are, I hope you will agree, some truly outstanding, original essays that are testament to the variety of ways that Byron continues to motivate and inspire. It is also gratifying to note that four of the authors included here are making their Byron Journal debuts.

The first three essays are authored by academics from the United States: J. Andrew Hubbell addresses Byron’s cultural ecology paying close attention to Manfred, Jason Kolkey adds to the interesting growing body of work on Romantic print culture, examining pirated editions of Byron’s verse, while Troy Wellington Smith sheds light on the neglected area of Byron’s influence on Kierkegaard. This is followed by an article by Howard Davies, a London-based publisher, who provides a tale of his detective work in tracing a missing Byron plaque. It is always nice to be able to present new primary material in the journal and Peter Cochran obliges in the final article which contains three new letters to Byron that he recently discovered in the National Library of Scotland. If this were not enough there is also a full reviews section, a report from the salerooms from Alex Alec-Smith and reports from the International Byron Societies.

This issue is also notable for being Philip Shaw’s last as Reviews Editor. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Phil on behalf of the Editorial Board for the time and energy he has put into the journal over the years. We have been very lucky to have such a skilled editor. I am also delighted to be able to announce that Phil’s successor is Carl Thompson who will take over the position of Reviews Editor for issue 42.2.