Travels Through Time #11 – Lucasta Miller, 1838
Letitia Landon – 'L.E.L.' – was one of the brightest stars of Georgian London's literary scene, but she remains an enigma whose life and death are open to interpretation.
Although Letitia Landon's name is scarcely known outside specialist circles today, in the 1820s she was a true celebrity in the fast-evolving publishing world of literary monthlies and quarterlies. She thrived due to the quality of her verse and the mystery surrounding her persona: who was the writer behind the acronym? When L.E.L.'s identity was revealed in 1824 it turned out that she was – in her mother's words – 'a girl addicted to writing poetry.'
In this episode of Travels Through Time, literary historian and journalist Lucasta Miller tells us about L.E.L.'s life and takes us back to 1838 to witness her sad end. It's a story that ranges from the churches of London to the old slaving posts of West Africa. As with the literary career that had gone before it, the manner of L.E.L's death is open to interpretation.
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