London, 1818: a secret love affair began between 23-year-old English poet, John Keats, and the girl next door, Fanny Brawne, who was an outspoken student of fashion. This unlikely pair was initially at odds- he thought she was a stylish minx, while she was unimpressed by literature in general. Yet it was the illness of Keats’ younger brother that brought them together. Keats was touched by Fanny’s efforts to help and agreed to teach her poetry. By the time Fanny’s alarmed mother and Keats’ best friend Brown realized their attachment, the relationship had an unstoppable momentum. Intensely and helplessly absorbed in each other, the young lovers were swept into powerful new sensations. “I have the feeling as if I were dissolving,” Keats wrote to her. Together they rode a wave of romantic obsession that deepened as their troubles mounted. Only Keats’ illness proved insurmountable.

London, 1818: a secret love affair began between 23-year-old English poet, John Keats, and the girl next door, Fanny Brawne, who was an outspoken student of fashion. This unlikely pair was initially at odds- he thought she was a stylish minx, while she was unimpressed by literature in general. Yet it was the illness of Keats’ younger brother that brought them together. Keats was touched by Fanny’s efforts to help and agreed to teach her poetry. By the time Fanny’s alarmed mother and Keats’ best friend Brown realized their attachment, the relationship had an unstoppable momentum. Intensely and helplessly absorbed in each other, the young lovers were swept into powerful new sensations. “I have the feeling as if I were dissolving,” Keats wrote to her. Together they rode a wave of romantic obsession that deepened as their troubles mounted. Only Keats’ illness proved insurmountable. (less)