This first edition of the first two cantos of Lord Byron’s epic poem, Don Juan was acquired for the Royal Library by William IV. The poem is a retelling of the Spanish legend of Don Juan, a libertine who spends his life seducing, or rather, believes himself to be too readily seduced by, women; a lifestyle for which Byron was notorious among the British public. The first two cantos were written during Byron’s exile to Ravenna, where he lived with his lover, Teresa Guiccioli (1800–73).
The cantos were scandalous, openly criticising many popular figures of the day. After Byron sent his manuscript to his publisher John Murray, the two decided that the work should be printed anonymously. Neither Byron's nor Murray's names appear on the title page, only that of the radical printer Thomas Davison (1794–1826). This soon led to the printing of cheaper pirated copies of the poem.