On 15 October 1838, the body of a thirty-six-year-old woman was found in Cape Coast Castle, West Africa, a bottle of Prussic acid in her hand. She was one of the most famous English poets of her day: Letitia Elizabeth Landon, known by her initials 'L.E.L.' What was she doing in Africa? Was her death an accident, as the inquest claimed? Or had she committed suicide, or even been murdered? To her contemporaries, she was an icon, hailed as the 'female Byron', admired by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Heinrich Heine, the young Bronte sisters and Edgar Allan Poe. However, she was also a woman with secrets, the mother of three illegitimate children whose existence was subsequently wiped from the record. After her death, she became the subject of a cover-up which is only now unravelling. Too scandalous for her reputation to survive, Letitia Landon was a brilliant woman who made a Faustian pact in a ruthless world. She embodied the post-Byronic era, the 'strange pause' between the Romantics and the Victorians. This new investigation into the mystery of her life, work and death excavates a whole lost literary culture.

Once upon a time, I fell in love with a boy.A beautiful, broken boy who had his own world of struggles. People warned me against our love, but I didn't listen.We looked weak. Young, foolish. Dangerously in love. We didn't care.In order to keep our hearts protected from the opinions of others, we became each other's secret. We shared stolen moments. Tender touches. Secretive embraces.It was our twisted love story, and it worked for us up until our lives changed forever.The boy I loved became Hollywood's newest golden boy. His career blossomed as mine stalled. He found massive success as I discovered multiple failures. He made something of himself, while my dreams never came true. We moved into different realms where our pieces no longer fit together.In the fairy tales, love conquered all.In reality, love was the main reason empires began to fall.I always knew Landon belonged in my story. He was my beginning, middle, and end.The only problem? I wasn't certain I still belonged in his. *Book Two of the Landon & Shay Duet.*