A Sequel to Don Juan

About this issue

This anonymous verse narrative continues Byron's celebrated poem in octava rima form. The work presents as an epic continuation of Don Juan's amorous exploits, explicitly modeled on classical epic conventions—the author invokes the muse in Miltonic and Virgilian tones while ironically comparing his subject to Homer and Spenser. The narrative opens with Don Juan installed at Norman Abbey, where he conducts an affair with a voluptuous Duchess. The text explicitly depicts their physical encounter in her chamber, rendered in elevated poetic language. This liaison attracts the attention of Lady Adeline Amundeville, who—motivated by jealousy masked as moral concern—schemes to separate the lovers by inviting the Duke of Fitz-Fulke to the estate. Meanwhile, Lord Amundeville receives urgent dispatches summoning him to London following the Home Secretary's death, creating opportunity for further entanglement. The fragment concludes as Lord Henry and the Duke approach Juan's chambers. The work combines erotic content with satirical commentary on English society, politics (including criticism of Prime Minister Peel), and literary pretension.