He wrote his first novel with only 18 years old, which was criticized by Edinburgh Review and later, this critics became unjustified by English Bards and Scots Reviewers.
In 1809 a two-year trip to the Mediterranean countries provided material and inspiration for the first two cantos of Childe Harold's Pilgrimage.
While his fame was spreading, his love for his half sister Augusta made him strengthened the sense of guilt and doom that he had always felt. From then, the theme of incest became a very strong theme in his writings, starting with the epic tales that he published between 1812 and 1816.