ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY.

ON THIS DAY in 1814, The Corsair: A Tale by Lord Byron was published, and ten thousand copies were sold the first day. The next day 9,874 copies were returned by irate readers who had discovered that, notwithstanding the title page, the so-called “tale” was in fact a poem. The remaining 126 copies not returned made The Corsair the best-selling work of poetry of all time.