Thomas Medwin was born at Horsham, Sussex, in 1788. He was the biographer of P.B. Shelley and L ord Byron. In Pisa he frequented L ord Byron's cultural circle, where he came into contact with British poets, politicians and artists. He died in 1869.

In the preface to the work devoted to the conversations he had with L ord Byron between 1821 and 1822, Medwin talks about the problems inherent in his chosen subject, since a poet does not belong to the land of his birth. A poet has no homeland but is a citizen of the world and his memories are the heritage of all.

The author, conscious of the ¨risks¨ of his trade, carefully describes the poet's life and the subjects of their discussions, presenting a picture of the man and his passions, as well as the principal historical events and occurrences of the time. His intention is not to write a eulogy but to paint a realistic portrait of his personality, which he has slowly come to know over the period, several months, of his stay in Pisa. In fact an intellectual coterie of great interest had been created at L ord Byron's residence in Pisa: it attracted personalities of the English world like the poet Shelley (of whom Byron had become a great friend) Lieutenant Edward Elliker Williams (1793-1822) and his wife and Captain Edward John Trelawny. In the fall of 1821, Shelley's cousin had joined the group along with his classmate, Captain Thomas Medwin.