An explanation

''Mad, bad and dangerous to know'' was his (Lord Byron's) lover Lady Caroline Lamb's famous assessment of him, and even today one can scarcely read of his exploits -- his compulsive love affairs with women and boys; his drinking and excess; the scandalous liaison with his half sister, Augusta (who may have borne him a child in 1814); the bizarre athletic feats; his exile in Italy and exotic death in 1824 at the age of 36 while trying to foment a revolution in Greece