'Except the occupation of one or two annoyances, I have done nothing but read since I got Lord Byron's life - I have no pretensions to being a critic - yet I know infinitely well what pleases me - Not to mention the judicious arrangement and happy tact displayed by Mr Moore, which distinguish this book - I must say a word concerning the style, which is elegant and forcible. I was particularly struck by the observations on Lord Byron's character before his departure to Greece - and on his return - there is strength and richness as well as sweetness The great charm of the work to me, and it will have the same for you, is that the Lord Byron I find there is our Lord Byron - the fascinating - faulty - childish - philosophical being - daring the world - docile to a private circle - impetuous and indolent - gloomy and yet more gay than any other - I live with him again in these pages - getting reconciled (as I used in his lifetime) to those waywardnesses which annoyed me when he was away, through the delightful and buoyant tone of his conversation and manners - [...] There is something cruelly kind in this single volume When will the next come? - impatient before how tenfold now am I so. Among its many other virtues this book is [underlined] accurate [end underlining] to a miracle I have not stumbled on one mistake with regard either to time place or feeling' [letter to John Murray]