The 1820s saw myriad start-up periodicals, hoping to woo an expanding base of literate, culturally aspirational consumers, and boosted by technological advances in printing. But The Gazette kept going, largely thanks to the work of Letitia Landon. In the fantasy figure of “L.E.L.,” Landon seduced her audience by creating a poetic brand that both was and was not herself. That year, with one secret baby already behind her, Landon stepped out from behind the veil of L.E.L. to become an acknowledged celebrity with the publication of her best-selling first poetry collection, “The Improvisatrice.”

Source: New York Times June 01, 2019 17:37 UTC