Childe Harold's Pilgrimage

Local Description

pp.315. Bound in original cloth, embossed with gilt decorations on both boards and spine. Some wear. A presentation copy to Emelia von Tempsky, signed and dated April 1857 from the "Gulph-Stream" by her father ("Papa") James Bell, who was British Agent at Bluefields in Nicaragua at the time. She married Gustav von Tempsky, a later notable participant in the Maori Wars in 1855. In 1858, they sailed from Liverpool to Australia. She died in 1900. A rare personal copy.

Description

Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage is a long poem about a traveling young man who journeys across the world to combat his disillusionment with his own society. Since the title character is a "childe", it means he was a noble who forgoes his destiny back home for the exciting unknown. It's also eerily similar to Lord Byron's own life story, of a man who traveled across Europe to take part in other nations' wars.