Dandy confidant of Byron

Press, 10 March 1984, Page 18

Dandy confidant of Byron

The Rise and Fail of a Regency Dandy — The Life and Times of Scrope Berdmore Davies. By T. A. J. Burnett. Oxford, 1983 (first pub., 1981) 256 pp. $11.95 (paperback). (Reviewed by Stephen Erber) Dandyism was a social phenomenon which was an invention of the Regency “when the institutions of monarchy and aristocracy were hated and despised as seldom before.” George (“Beau”) Brummell was dandyism’s first and best known practitioner. In dandyism he and his followers created an alternative rival aristocracy. To describe or define what a dandy is, is no easy thing. Dandyism was not mere foppery (affectation in male attire) because although “clothes maketh man,” they did not by themselves make a dandy. To be sure, the rules of dress were a part of the whole. Perfection of cut and insistence on impeccable understatement of dress, were one expression of distaste for ordinary values of ordinary men. What marked the dandy from ordinary mortals was a self assured affirmation of superiority and exclusiveness. The dandy was not exclusive by birth or wealth. On the contrary, most were middle class and of no great fortune. What the dandys created within Regency society was an exclusive coterie, the ruling principle of which was exclusivism which was maintained by sheer nerve, determined self assurance and the backing of the Prince Regent. This exclusivism was seen in all facets of the dandy’s life — in the clothes he wore, the friends he kept, the occupations he indulged, the argot he affected, the places where he could be seen. What distinguished the dandy then, was style or “ton.” The society in

which they lived was the society of “ton.” They were the “polished ‘ultras’ of ton,” the “corps elite.” Scrope (rhymes with “soup”) Berdmore Davies was part of this elite world of fashion. Captain Gronow saw him thus: “His manners and appearance were of the true Brummell type; there was nothing showy in his exterior. He was quiet and reserved in ordinary company, but he was the life and soul of those who relished learning and wit...” He was also a womaniser, an inveterate gambler (which was his downfall), a drunkard, and a close friend and confidant of Byron. By 1820 the clamour of his creditors drove Scrope across the Channel to exile in France where he died in 1852. Before he left he deposited in Barclays’ Bank a trunk of papers which remained undiscovered until 1976. It was the discovery of these papers which was the genesis of this outstanding book. In the trunk were not only accounts, legal documents, notebooks and various (and fascinating) personal papers, but also two unpublished sonnets of Shelley in his own hand, and manuscripts of Byron’s “Childe Harold” and “The Prisoner of Chilion.” The discovery caused a sensation not only in the literary world, and was given front page prominence in “The Times.” The trunk was taken by horse-drawn carriage to the British Library where, with much brouhaha, it was deposited. The book is introduced by a kinsman of Scrope, Bevis Hillier, who gives an enthralling account of the discovery of the trunk, the assessment of its contents and the careful search for colateral descendants Of Scrope (he did not marry and had no children) so that ownership of the trunk could be

determined. To their credit, the legal claimants renounced their claims in favour of the British Library.

T. A. J. Burnett then examines Scrope’s life and his times with conspicuous success and charm. The author emphasises the closeness of Scrope’s friendship with Byron, which is attested by the correspondence and the fact that Byron permitted Scrope to mediate in his failing marriage. Although Scrope was to all Sarances a staunch friend, he sed the currency of that friendship somewhat when he gave it to Captain Gronow as his personal opinion that Byron was “very agreeable and clever, but vain, overbearing, conceited, suspicious and jealous.” Emphasised also is Scrope’s role in politics (he was a Whig) — helping friends by chairing meetings, canvassing for votes, or implementing political strategems. Indeed one of the strengths of the book is the author’s clear-sighted treatment of the political arena of the times. Perhaps the book’s greatest success is its evocation of the age seen through the eyes of one of the smart set. How clear it becomes that the style, tone, and definition of that age was set by a few men led, or at least encouraged, by the Prince Regent. This edition of the book does not have the carefully chosen illustrations which appeared in the original edition, and neither has a likeness of Scrope because, unfortunately, no portrait of him is known to exist. It does however, have a selection of the letters found in the trunk as well as the two sonnets of Shelley, and altogether the publication is an outstanding piece of readable scholarship.