A play for radio by Kathleen Balbernie
Produced by Mollie Greenhalgh
Ada, sole daughter of my house and heart' wrote Byron of the child who was to become Lady Lovelace. But he had another daughter who inherited all the poet's passion and wildness without his genius. Elizabeth Medora Leigh , daughter of Byron's half-sister grew up in ignorance of her real parentage, but her destiny was clear. A rebel against Society, she left the comfort and shelter of her home to embark on the stormy life that was her heritage. Byron might well have had some foreknowledge of the fate of his Medora when he wrote:
' ... Oh, earth! Oh, earth!
For all the fruits thou hast rendered to me, I
Give thee back this-Now for the wilderness! '