Gossip, scandal and tragedy: the life of literary celebrity Letitia Landon - Financial Times

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Gossip, scandal and tragedy: the life of literary celebrity Letitia Landon - Financial Times Posted: 19 May 2019 09:00 PM PDT On the morning of October 15 1838, at Cape Coast Castle in present-day Ghana, the body of the new wife of Governor George Maclean, the British official in charge of the region, was found in her drawing-room, clutching an empty bottle of prussic acid. Now commonly known as hydrogen cyanide, the toxic substance was at the time readily available via prescription or over the counter. Mrs Maclean had been in west Africa for exactly two months; no autopsy was performed before burial and an inquest ruled her death an accident. It was only when the news of her demise reached England in January 1839 that rumours of suicide and even murder began to circulate, for the late 36-year-old was no stranger to scandal. As Letitia Elizabeth Landon she had, since she was "a lady yet in her teens", been a widely published writer of poetry, novels and reviews under the pseudonym L.E.L., and one of the most feted, frowned upon — and subsequently forgotten — celebrities of her day. Lucasta Miller, whose The Brontë Myth (2001) was a dazzling challenge to and exploration of the cult around the lives of Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brontë, takes on in L.E.L. a literary figure whom she initially anticipated, as she comments in her postscript, "might be relatively quick to dispatch" as "a minor subject". The result is an energetic, fascinating and deeply researched book which is as much about the "strange pause" — the slippery, ambiguous hinterland in literature and history between the end of the Romantic era of Shelley, Byron and Keats, and the beginning of the Victorian age — as it is about Letitia Landon herself. In 1820s and 1830s London, Miller uncovers a thriving publishing culture of hacks and literary wannabes with L.E.L. — the persona indistinguishable from the person — at its centre. It was a time when reputations and fortunes were made and lost in the blink of an eye, and the unquestioned double standard of ignoring men's social and sexual transgressions while excoriating and shunning women for similar behaviour seems wearily familiar. Landon's early ambition and alacrity with words found its mirror in her audience; her poems, abundant with floral imagery and innuendo, hinted at tragic love and loss. Yet she needed always to earn her living and support her vaguely employed younger brother; their father had lost the family money early. The eager readers of L.E.L.'s first published verses knew none of this, nor that the mysterious teenage prodigy was the mistress of William Jerdan, her editor at the Literary Gazette, who was married and 20 years her senior. When her identity was revealed in 1824, the public couldn't get enough of her carefully cultivated image. Later, when the newly founded Sunday Times implicated Landon in a relationship with Jerdan, it was she who became the everlasting brunt of gossip and humiliation. Her greatest secret was the three children she bore Jerdan and gave up for adoption: although the rumour periodically resurfaced while she was alive, it was not until 2000 that an article in the London Review of Books by Cynthia Lawford confirmed that they had existed at all. Miller contends that it was this regularly renewed gossip which ultimately led to Landon's virtual exile in Africa following her hasty, unsuitable marriage to a man with murky dealings in illegal commerce and the slave trade, who already had a family with a local woman. Maclean's own dubious background was the source for the serious mutterings of murder, although Miller's view is that Landon did indeed kill herself, either intentionally or accidentally. The reasons for Landon's dwindling reputation (and income) are as understandable as they are complex: a combination of a fickle public, the "spider society" of unreliable friends (who after her death suppressed the more indelicate aspects of Landon's life as much to protect their own standing as hers), changing literary fashions, the ushering in of a more overtly moral outlook at the end of the Regency period and the loss of her business manager and lover — whom, as Miller shockingly discovers in 19th-century account books, never paid L.E.L. directly for her work. The story of L.E.L. is salacious enough, but Miller's skill is to address and capture the transient nature of Landon's fame — an instantly recognisable prototype of self-made celebrity — to retrieve her from history's doldrums, and demolish the mocking which continued for decades. George Eliot, who early in her own career inhabited a similar literary demimonde to Landon, thought her work "silly"; for Virginia Woolf it was "insipid". Yet, Miller points out, in France, where Landon was well received on a visit in 1834, the reputations of her female writer contemporaries of similar lifestyle endured, and her influence on an early fan who longed for fame of her own, the adolescent Charlotte Bronte, is evident in her own greatest works: Jane Eyre and Villette. Landon's 1829 poem "Lines of Life" ("I borrow others' likeness, till/ Almost I lose my own") is a brilliant example of her "show not tell" opacity; her quoted correspondence displays exceptional verve and wit even in despair. For Miller, Landon is predominantly a "post-modern" character and "a textual construct"; the success of this vastly intriguing book is that by its end the reader is of the same conviction. L.E.L.: The Lost Life and Scandalous Death of Letitia Elizabeth Landon, the Celebrated 'Female Byron', by Lucasta Miller, Jonathan Cape, RRP£25, 416 pages Join our online book group on Facebook at FTBooksCafe. Subscribe to FT Life on YouTube for the latest FT Weekend videos

Free daily horoscope, celeb gossip and lucky numbers for 21 May, 2019 - The South African Posted: 20 May 2019 04:01 PM PDT CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Judge Reinhold, Harold Robbins, Fairuza Balk, Mr. T, Raymond Burr, Fats Waller, Peggy Cass, Ashlie Brillault. ARIES (March 21-April 19): Don't be fooled by today's gently corrective vibe. It may not feel particularly powerful, but it will be somewhat persistent. It may start to feel as though the cosmos is constantly drawing your attention to any adjustments required. If so, then do heed the message, particularly if there is or has been a sense of misdirected effort! Want to know what the future holds? Get a FREE tarot card reading. TAURUS (April 20-May 20): It may feel like an inconsistent day, but actually the shifting influences could have a settling, counteractive effect. For you, specifically, there's the capacity to close a possibly minor and recent rift. That said; a tendency to dig your heels in on principle could be the main block to small but steady improvements in general! GEMINI (May 21-June 20): A specific issue has the capacity to be resolved, although it is possible that a revelation on a minor level has the capacity to reveal an angle that you haven't considered before. Metaphorically speaking, there could be a very low- level 'healing' process in progress today. If so, try not to interrupt it! CANCER (June 21-July 22): The emphasis on a surprise-discovery or communication is strong. However, how that information will be delivered could be somewhat understated. An idea or realization may well need more time to mature. If you can wait a while, then the end result is likely to be a slow but useful one! LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Today is likely to be one of those days where you may well detect the potential for a second chance, thanks to planetary shifts. Bear in mind that today will be a slightly intriguing day, given the discreetly corrective vibe. That said; there is a tendency to get completely carried away with this! VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): It's a day where an ongoing but potentially sensitive issue may seem to develop (yet even more) complications. However; it is possible that a closer, more objective analysis will be more reassuring than you realize, since planetary shifts have the capacity to zone in on the actual problem and filter out the non- issues! LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): After a clumsy few days there's a chance today to generate a better mood all round, although you may have to visibly back- track on something very specific. Grand claims made earlier in the week may need to be acknowledged and dealt with fully. In other words, it may be a day to admit your mistakes! SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Today's somewhat restorative vibe may help you to dip beneath the surface when it comes to an 'either/or' choice still yet to be resolved. While it's certainly not the best day to implement new decisions, it is a good day to consider or even revisit what may appear to be a limited or restricted offer! SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): It's likely to be a day of gentle changes and shifts. A rather discerning vibe well cast a light on a recent misjudgment and while this revelation is highly likely to be a positive one in the long run, there is an indication that one or two moments of doubt could have a counteractive effect! CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Shifting influences could make things a little unpredictable. Be prepared for a possible revival of one specific matter, most likely a practical /material one. You may need to revisit old ground in order to move forward again. Unfortunately, this may not be as simple as it sounds! AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): It's a day where you could turn a minor disadvantage into a small opportunity, as long as you're prepared to back-pedal. If this is connected to a previous error or miscalculation, then a graceful retraction may well get a better, warmer reception than trying to deny it. It may be best to play it by ear! PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): As with many other signs, it's perhaps a day to be a little more forthcoming about previous and ongoing errors. That said; it's certainly not a day to be so honest that you actually cause more problems for yourself. Take a common sense stance: there may be no need for a grand gesture! FOR THOSE OF US BORN ON THIS DAY: Happy Birthday! The months ahead are likely to start on a very positive note, thanks to a string of conjunctions that will last for much of September. However, you might not be able to fully appreciate this, because you'll be easily distracted by those little details in key areas of your life. Try to recognize the wider picture in order to make the most of this month. You might feel a distinct lack of energy at the start of January, but this will be very short-lived. March is likely to bring some minor problems in terms of romance; you'll find that you need to be a little more flexible in your approach! CELEBRITY GOSSIP: Selena Gomez may be extremely cute, but it would be foolish to think that this means that she doesn't have a steelier side. This is something that an instagram user recently found out when Selena hit back at their negative comments. According to the planets we will be seeing a lot more of Selena's feistier side in coming months! Today's lucky numbers ARIES  4, 11, 25, 28, 33, 47 TAURUS  2, 7, 14, 21, 30, 48 GEMINI  6, 15, 18, 29, 33, 45 CANCER  1, 3, 17, 25, 32, 47 LEO  4, 16, 20, 29, 35, 42 VIRGO  2, 9, 11, 21, 38, 43 LIBRA  7, 18, 27, 33, 34, 40 SCORPIO  9, 16, 23, 29, 35, 44 SAGITTARIUS  1, 8, 14, 29, 32, 48 CAPRICORN  7, 13, 17, 25, 38, 43 AQUARIUS  2, 5, 11, 20, 39, 45 PISCES  4, 7, 13, 26, 34, 40 TODAY'S CHINESE PROVERB: If you neglect your art for one day it will neglect you for two. TODAY'S MOTIVATIONAL QUOTE: For everything you have missed, you have gained something else. – Ralph Waldo Emerson. TODAY'S WISDOM FROM AROUND THE WORLD: If you share your friend's crime you make it your own. – Roman proverb.

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