ABSTRACT
Leigh Hunt's life was to undergo some important changes between the years 1821 and 1825. Although he successfully edited two new publications, the Indicator and the Literary Pocket–Book, his finances were once again causing him some distress, as was his health, which had been in decline since the end of the 1810s. Ultimately, Hunt's journey to Italy would have consequences for Hunt that neither he nor Shelley could have anticipated. Before he left for Italy, Hunt had been away from England only once, and after his return he would never leave his native shores again. Hunt's 'chronic unpopularity with Tory readers' obviously played a major part in the negative reception of the periodical even before the first issue was actually published. Consequently, the very concept of a new periodical edited by Lord Byron, Mary Shelley, and Hunt seemed a threat to morality and the Government even before its publication.
