Conversations of Lord Byron With the Countess of Blessington

When the Countess of Blessington (1789-1849) met the poet Lord Byron (1788-1824) in Genoa in 1823 she noted that 'the impression of the first few minutes disappointed me'.

Despite this precarious start, they struck up a friendship and met nearly every day for two months.

Byron had been living in the Italian port city s