Saturday, April 9, 2011

Update: Happy Ending for John Keats' Letter

Saturday, April 9, 2011
Susan reporting:

Recently I wrote here about a beautiful and poignant love letter from 19th c. poet John Keats to his sweetheart Fanny Brawne. The letter had been sold at auction for an astonishing £96,000, and many of you wondered both the identity of the buyer and the future of the letter, concerned that it would disappear into the library of a private collector.

Fear not! The letter was purchased by the City of London corporation, which manages Keats' home in north London as a museum. The letter will go on display there as part of their permanent display - a most fitting destination. Read here for more.

2 comments:

Lady Burgley said...

This truly is the perfect final resting-place for this letter. The museum is in the semi-detached house where John lived, and next door to where Fanny lived, and where they fell in love. How wonderful (but ultimately tragic) that the letter will be kept under the same roof where it was first written, and next door to where it was read by Fanny.

Elizabeth Kerri Mahon said...

Huzzah! It's nice to know that the letter will reside where Keats and Fanny had so many happy times.

 
Two Nerdy History Girls. Design by Pocket