Thursday, 5 November 2009

These Charming Men

A clip now from the glorious BBC drama, Beau Brummell: This Charming Man. Beau has just met Lord Byron, and they sleep with a courtesan, and in the morning have an apocalyptic discussion punctuated by Byron's insistent refrain of "come back to bed."



The programme centres around three of the most powerful Georgian men, George, George and George (Brummell, Byron and Hanover). The Prince Regent is invited to watch Brummell dress, and becomes a bit infatuated, before Beau meets Byron and becomes infatuated with him, driving the poor Prince to the heights of jealousy and petulance. It's almost completely imagined - based upon Byron's quip that the three great men of the age were Brummell, Bonapart and, of course, himself. But it is sublime in the most Burkean of ways.

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