Page "Walter Savage Landor" Paragraph 52
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Also in 1836, Landor met John Forster who became his biographer, having become friends after Forster's review of his " Shakespeare ".
When a lady friend rebuked him for this on the basis that Eldon was now over eighty, Landor replied unmoved with the quip " The devil is older ".
He had several other publications that year besides Pericles, including " Letter from a Conservative ", " A Satire on Satirists " which included a criticism of Wordsworth's failure to appreciate Southey, Alabiadas the Young Man, and " Terry Hogan ", a satire on Irish priests.
It is possible that Ianthe was living at Bristol, but the evidence is not clear, and in 1837 she went to Austria, where she remained for some years.
At the end of the year he published " Death of Clytemnestra " and " The Pentalogia ", containing five of his finest shorter studies in dramatic poetry.
Although this had no financial success it was much admired by his friends including Kenyon, Julius Hare, Crabb Robinson, Elizabeth Barrett Browning who said " some of the pages are too delicious to turn over ", and Leigh Hunt who reckoned it Landor's masterpiece.
In the spring of 1838 he took a house in Bath and wrote his three plays the " Andrea of Hungary ", " Giovanna of Naples ", and " Fra Rupert ".
These plays are in the form of a trilogy in the first of which Fra Rupert contrives the death of Andrea husband of Giovanna.
In 1839 Landor's attempts to publish the plays were caught up in a dispute between Bentley and Dickens and Forster which caused considerable delay.
Again, although these plays, or " conversations in verse " did not succeed with the public, Landor gained warm admirers, many of whom were his personal friends.
Southey's mind was giving way when he wrote a last letter to his friend in 1839, but he continued to mention Landor's name when generally incapable of mentioning any one.
Landor wandered around the country again, frequently visiting London, where he usually stayed with Lady Blessington, whom he had known at Florence.
Mrs Paynter, and her daughter Rose Paynter were at Bath and Landor's letters and verses to Rose are among his best works.
Landor greatly admired Dickens ' works, and was especially moved by the character of Nell Trent ( from The Old Curiosity Shop ).
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