Editorial

A number of people have contacted me to say how pleased they were to see Andrew Nicholson's final essay for the journal in the last issue. I would very much like to thank Bernard Beatty, Jane Stabler and Tim Webb for their help in getting Andrew's detailed draft of the essay, to which he was unable to give the finishing touches, ready for publication.

The present issue is full of variety. We have two essays on Byron's poetry – one on 'Churchill's Grave' as a critical response to Wordsworth, the other on Byron's debt as an epigrammatist to the Classical tradition of epigram writing – an essay on Byron's rooms at Albany, a piece on Byron's pioneering literary detective work in Venice and a detailed analysis – and celebration – of Byron's letter writing. We also have a letter from a reader of the journal, sent with this year's International Byron Society conference in Spain very much in mind, pointing other readers to the 'deep affinities' between Byron and Goya. And we have Alex Alec-Smith's second annual report on Byron-related activity in the salerooms and auction houses. All this is followed by a substantial reviews section, and reports of some of last year's Byron Society activities around the world.

The next issue will be something of a first for The Byron Journal – a special issue devoted to a single theme. The theme will be Byron and Robert Burns. With that still to look forward to, however, I hope you all enjoy the following pages.