Landor, Walter Savage

(1775-1864)

   Born in Warwick, Warwickshire, the son of a doctor, he was educated at Rugby School and at Oxford University. Of an independent mind, he refused to compete for any Latin prize, even though his Latin was outstanding. He left Oxford after being disciplined for firing a gun at the window of a Tory. His father died in 1805 and Landor dedicated his life to wine, women and poetry. Seeking adventure, in 1808 he joined the Spaniards against the French and was rewarded by an honorary commission as colonel in the service of Ferdinand. Embroiled in a difficult lawsuit, he fled to Italy to live with Robert and Elizabeth Browning in Florence, where he died. Some of his publications: Poems, 1795 and 1802. Guy's Porridge Pot, 1808. Imaginary Conversations, 1824. The Impious Feast, 1828. Last Fruit Off an Old Tree, 1853. Heroic Idylls, 1863. Some of his other poems: "Advice to a Poet," "After Wellington," "Dante Aligheri," "Henry the Eighth and Anne Boleyn," "Ianthe," "The Crimean Heroes," "The Gardener and the Mole," "Written in England on the Battle of Aboukir," "Youth to Age."

   Sources: Dictionary of National Biography. Electronic Edition 1.1. Oxford University Press, 1997. Encyclopædia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite DVD, 2006. English Poetry, Second Edition Bibliography (http://collections.chadwyck.co.uk/html/ep2/bibliography/g.htm). English Poetry: Author Search. Chadwyck-Healey Ltd., 1995 (http://www.lib.utexas.edu:8080/search/epoetry/author.html). Poems for the People - Poems by the People (http://www.netpoets.com/classic/biographies/038000.htm). The National Portrait Gallery (www.npg.org.uk). Poems of Walter Savage Landor. Geoffrey Grigson, ed. Centaur Press, 1964. Selections From Robert Landor. Eric Partridge, ed. the Fanfrolico Press, 1927. The Columbia Granger's Index to Poetry. 11th ed. The Columbia Granger's World of Poetry, Columbia University Press, 2005 (http://www.columbiagrangers.org). The Faber Book of War Poetry. Kenneth Baker, ed. Faber and Faber, 1996. The New Oxford Book of Romantic Period Verse. Jerome J. McGann. Oxford University Press, 1993. The San Antonio College LitWeb Walter Savage Landor Page (http://www.accd.edu/sac/english/bailey/landorws.htm).