Slow Reading: Byron's Don Juan for Banned Book Week

A bookclub but with a difference - a few passages to read & discuss in a relaxed environment. Slow down, read closely, think and discuss - that's what we are asking you to do in this club for Banned Books Week. The only book - that we know about so far - that was (temporarily) banned from being taken out on loan by the Portico Library in 1825. Byron's saitrical epic of the life of one of the most notorious fictional sexual philanderers and exotic adventurers Don Juan was published in parts until 1824. It caused controversy in its time and had an added poignancy after Byron died in Greece in 1825. Why it was taken off the lending shelves in Manchester, we may never know and only guess from these passages. . . .In support of Banned Books Week organised by Index On Censorship. Turn off your smart phones, step away from the hectic pace of life, and discuss words. Includes a tea or coffee. Dr Debbie Challis is Creative Producer of the Portico Library and a cultural historian with an expertise on the reception of classical antiquity in the nineteenth century. She is currently researching and writing about the life of a mid Victorian female artist called Mary Severn. She is an expert on the reception of Greek myth on Alex Andreou's Podyssey and her work can be found on drdebbiechallis.com.