Introduction

Percy Bysshe Shelley was acutely aware of the complexities of the Byron-Hunt friendship, describing the relationship as that between the wren and the eagle of ancient fable, in which the opportunistic wren reached new and otherwise unattainable heights upon the wings of the powerful eagle. This introduction chapter presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book. The book looks at the private discussions Lord Byron and Leigh Hunt had about their early satires while examining their shared aims and targets as well as their stylistic divergences. It examines the period of the earliest personal acquaintance of Byron and Hunt, traces Byron’s intimate engagements with Hunt’s political newspaper: The Examiner. The book explains Hunt’s major contributions to The Liberal as deliberate acts of literary engagement with Byron. New manuscript evidence suggests that Hunt and Byron were working closely together on the miscellany, frequently sharing ideas and materials during the assembly of The Liberal.