The Guardian
June 8, 2001
By Elisabeth Mahoney

As Byron's Women (Radio 4) reminded us, there is nothing scarier than women fighting over a prized treasure. Against a musical backdrop of Mad About The Boy, the poet's would-be women do all they can "to deserve the lash of his satire", pretend to be in love with his poetry rather than his looks ("I don't care if he's as ugly as Aesop", one fables) and quiveringly write things like "mad, bad and dangerous to know" in their journals. It is from these, plus women's letters and poetry that Robin Brooks has written this 10-part series looking at how women responded to Byron.

As yet, I'm not sure that we're finding out anything new about the women themselves or Byron, and it is depressing to be reminded how long women have abased themselves in the pursuit of a you-know-he'll-be-bad man, blessed with chiselled cheekbones. But the series is well written and sparkily acted (Joseph Fiennes smoulders as Byron, except for odd moments when he sounds like Jack Dee) and we have already heard torturous recollections of being literally madly in love. Lady Caroline Lamb dresses herself as a boy for Byron and then sends him a very special love token, "a lock of my hair cut not from my head". Yes, it is what you are thinking.