Edward Wilson Landor

Edward Wilson Landor (1811–1878) was a lawyer, scholar, writer and pioneer in the early days of the British colony of Western Australia.

Early life and education

Edward Landor was born in 1811 in Rushold in Lancashire, England. He had some legal training and was given a junior partnership in his uncle's law practice.

The Landor family

Edward's father was a first cousin of Walter Savage Landor. In 1835, visiting his cousins at their home, Villa Gherardesca at Fiesole, Tuscany- by this time Walter Savage Landor had separated from his wife and left the family- Edward Landor became enamoured of his second cousin, Julia, but resolved to make nothing of his affection; returning to England "while he fancied he was still safe", he heard of Walter Savage Landor's intention never to return to the family and, having observed the vague manner in which Mrs Landor raised the children, who were entirely uneducated and mainly unmonitored, "his sympathies and his common sense" led him to go back to Fiesole to help get the family in some order. At this time, Mrs Landor, perceiving Edward's affection for her daughter, pushed for a marriage between them, and forced him into an admission of his love. This was reported to Walter Savage Landor- "quite maliciously, it seems"- by Julia's brother, Arnold; Walter Savage Landor was furious at Edward's "baseness" (compared with Arnold's "dutiful conduct"), and when Edward returned home he was "abused as a hypocritical schemer" by most of his relatives. Although Edward wrote to Julia's father expressing a willingness to maintain distance from the girl for two years if an engagement could follow, Walter Savage Landor would not change his view. After five years in Australia, Edward returned to England, with Walter Savage Landor's friend Joseph Ablett attempting to help bring the engagement about, but their attempts failed and he returned to Australia.