Walter Savage Landor was an English poet and writer best known for his series of dialogues titled "Imaginary Conversations" consisting of fictional discussions between historical figures published between 1824-1853. He had an unruly education and fought in the Peninsular War before inheriting property and moving to Wales and Italy, producing several works including the dialog "Pericles and Aspasia" about classical Athens. Landor lived in England and Italy over his career and was considered one of the great men of letters in Victorian Britain.

1. Walter Savage Landor
(1775 –1864)

2. Biography
 Poet and prose writer, Walter Savage Landor was born on
January 30, 1775 at Ipsley Court, Warwick. The son of a doctor and
a wealthy mother, he was educated at Rugby from where he was
removed for his behaviors.
 In 1793 Landor went to Trinity College, Oxford and after some
time was suspended for firing off a shotgun in his room.
 In 1799 Landor got a job on the Morning Chronicle
 In 1808 he fought as a volunteer for the Spanish War of Liberation
against the French.
 He inherited the family property in Staffordshire in 1805 and sold it
to buy Llanthony Abbey in Wales shortly before marrying a 17 year
old, Julia Thuiller in 1811. He took her to Llanthony but soon left for
France. From 1815 to 1818 he and his wife lived at Como, Italy,
where their eldest son, Arnold Savage, was born.

3. Biography
From 1821 to 1829 lived in Florence and in 1829
moved to Fiesole, where he left his wife and
children and returned to England. He settled at
Bath, where he lived for 20 years.
Between 1824 and 1853 Landor's Imaginary
Conversations appeared and established him as
one of the great English men of letters.
In 1858 he came back to Florence retained his
power into old age, publishing Last Fruit off an
Old Tree in 1853 and Heroic Idyls in 1863.
He died in Florence on Sept. 17, 1864.

4. Imaginary Conversations
Walter Savage is
best known for his
"Imaginary
Conversations," a
series of dialogues
between historical
personages.

5. Imaginary Conversations
 The first two volumes of his “Imaginary
Conversations” appeared in 1824 with a second
edition in 1826; a third volume was added in
1828; and in 1829 the fourth and fifth volumes
were published.
 Landor printed a total of 152 imaginary
conversations that can be called a new literary
type and an imitation of Platonic dialogues.

6. Imaginary Conversations
It comprises 6 volumes of imaginary conversations
between personalities of classical Greece and Rome,
poets and authors, statesmen and women, and
fortunate and unfortunate individuals.
Volumes in the 1882 edition
• Classical dialogues, Greek and Roman
• Dialogues of sovereigns and statesmen
• Dialogues of literary men
• Dialogues of literary men (continued)
• Dialogues of famous women, and miscellaneous dialogues
• Miscellaneous dialogues (concluded)

7. Pericles and Aspasia
Landor’s longest and most ambitious work written in 1836.

8. Pericles and Aspasia
• Its purpose is to portray the Golden Age of
Athens through letters and describes the
development of Aspasia's romance with
Pericles, who died in the Peloponnesian War,
told in a series of letters to a friend Cleone.
The work is one of Landor's most joyous
works and is singled out by contemporary
critics as an introduction to Landor at his
best.

9. Other Works
 He had several other publications in 1836 besides
Pericles, including "Letter from a Conservative", "A
Satire on Satirists" and "Terry Hogan", a satire on Irish
priests.
 At the end of the 1837 he published "Death of
Clytemnestra" and "The Pentalogia", containing 5 of his
finest shorter studies in dramatic poetry. The last piece
to be published was "Pentameron".
 In the spring of 1838 he took a house in Bath and
wrote his 3 plays the "Andrea of Hungary", "Giovanna of
Naples", and "Fra Rupert". These plays are in the form
of a trilogy.

10. Prepared by:
Aytekin Aliyeva