John Keats (1795-1821) wrote this passionate letter to his fiancée Frances (Fanny) Brawne (1800-1865) in March 1820, when he was housebound in Hampstead with tuberculosis, and Fanny Brawne was living in the property adjoining Wentworth Place. The letter movingly demonstrates the intensity of their relationship. Keats writes about kissing her signature and, on the back of the letter, he advises her not to visit him that day as he knew the disease was contagious. Within a year of its writing he was dead.
When this grant was awarded, Keats House was managed by London Metropolitan Archives.
Item Provenance
Several American owners, including Roger W. Barrett of Chicago, and Bruce P. Ferrini of Akron, Ohio; Roy Davids Collection, Bonham's 29 March 2011, lot 138
Autograph letter of John Keats to Fanny Brawne, 1820. FNL grant to Keats House 2011.