Speculative biography in which the insightful but unscrupulous Knight falls into the trap of relying on "the evidence of asterisks" to suggest that the source of Byron's marriage calamity was homosexuality. The asterisks in question, representing phrases redacted by a loyal Lady Byron relative, when restored more recently have turned out to be cleverly chosen inanities excised for the suggestiveness their absence implied. Knight's insight can't be impuned, but a scholar is only as worthwhile as his material. ( )