To Fanny Brawne
Contents:
For some years they moved about the Continent, and her scrap-book contains many views of the places they visited. This scrap-book and a book containing her costume plates both presented with other valuable relics to Keats House by her granddaughter, Mrs. Oswald Ellis give an excellent idea of her artistic Cxxn'2 taste.
Filled with reproductions of the great masters, prmts of beautiful buildings, and costumes of all ages, they show her to have been a woman of culture, appre- ciative of the beautiful in art, even as her letters provide evidence of her taste in literature. After a tranquil married life she died on December the 4th, ; her husband followed her seven years later. Both were buried in Brompton Cemetery. After the death bf her mother in she was cared for by her grandmother, Mrs. Jennings, and when she died in all the children came under the guardianship of Richard Abbey, a whole- sale tea and coffee merchant, and John Sandalls.
San- dalls soon relinquished his authority, and Abbey, a strict and unsympathetic business man, became the sole arbiter of their destinies until they came of age. We have no information about her schooldays, but she was there when, in September, , Keats addresses to her from Oxford the first extant letter of their correspondence. From December, , letters ceased to be addressed to the care of Miss Tuckey, and were sent to Mr. She was then fifteen.
Recipient:
Cxxiv] From Keats's letters it is evident that there was little mtimacy between the brothers and their sister. Abbey, annoyed witli what he considered John's wasteful life, did his utmost to prevent them meeting, carrying his prejudices to what Keats considered unreasonable lengths, even objecting to her receiving letters from him.
It must be remembered that, except for John, Fanny was alone. George had emigrated to America in June, , and Tom had died at Hampstead in the following December. Replying to his sister's complaints Keatswrites Feb 27th, Abbey's unfeeling and ignorant gabble. Such remarks, possibly seen by her guardian, added to the strained relations between him and Keats. Abbey also took exception to their calling together upon friends, and seems to have opposed even a visit by Fanny to her dying brother. Abbey three times about you, and have not been able to get his consent', John told his sister in a note of November the 5th, Correspondence, however, was fairly frequent between brother and sister until Keats left England, and his last letter, written two days before his de- parture, dictated to and in the handwriting of Fanny Brawne, says.
Having no living rela- tives in England, and, as far as can be ascertained, few friends apart from theDilkes and the Brawnes, her move- ments must of necessity have been greatly restricted.
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H Buxton Forman states that she had considerable difficulty in obtaining her patrimony from Abbey, and was only successful after repeated efforts and the assis- tance of Charles Wentworth Dilke, who with his wife had befriended Keats and his brothers and sister smce The earliest contemporary reference to Fanny Keats's marriage to Valentine Llanos y Guiterez, generally known as Valentine Llanos, was brought to light by Mr. Blunden m when he reprinted extracts from the Life of Gerald Griffin London, In June, , Griffin writes that he hopes to become acquainted with the sister of Keats the poet, and goes on 'My Spanish friend, Valentine Llanos, was intimate with him, and spoke with him three days before he died.
Guiterez, he called about a fortnight ago to take leave as he in- tended to pass a week or two at Walthamstow ' He probably called on Fanny shortly afterwards and there can be little doubt that this was her first meeting with her future husband. They were married on March the SOth, , at St. Luke's, Chelsea, where Fanny Keats had lived perhaps with, or near, the Dilkes after she left the Abbey household in Llanos was an accomplished Spanish gentleman resident in England and the author of two novels, Don Esteban and Sandoval the Freemason , both published by Henry Colburn In July, , Griffin spent an evening with Llanos and his wife when Fanny Brawne was also of the party.
In editing the letters I have adhered to the spelling and punctuation of the original manuscripts. Your's ever, fair Star,. But could I conceal from myself that with him, not getting better was getting worse? When Severn wrote, they were in Rome after a most wretched journey. My love, will it? Keats, by February, was at Wentworth Place, where Fanny visited him frequently and occasionally met his friends, one of whom was Joseph Severn. Why may I not speak of your Beauty, since without that I could never have lov'd you?
A fortnight later he writes that they are going to France, 'which I regret as deeply as it is pos- sible for me to say'. By 1 they were back in England and settled at Wentworth Place as neighbours of the Brawnes, in that part of the house once occupied by Keats and Charles Brown. Griffin dined with them, and again met Fanny Brawne, whose witty conversation much impressed him. Late in Llanos and his wife left Hampstead and returned to Spain, and after some travelling finally settled in Madrid.
There were four children of the marriage, two sons and two daughters, and Joseph C xxvii ;] Severn records meeting the family in Rome in where Sehora Llanos had gone to visit her married daughter, whose husband. In Seilor Llanos died, and shortly after his widow was awarded a small Civil List pension.
She died on December the 16th, , at the advanced age of Her surviv- ing grandchildren, Senor Enrique Brockmann and his sister Sehora Elena Brockmann, still reside at the house in Madrid where their grandparents lived for many years. Besides which I have several times invited you to stay with me during the last time your brother George was in England, an indulgence which was not granted me. Fanny Brawne wrote her first letter to Fanny Keats the following day.
The letter waswritten two days before he left Wentworth Place. Keats never wrote again either to his sister or his betrothed. The letters he received from them were buried with him unopened. B you, most likely without you ever having heard of my name. Besides all this your brother has been staying with us for the last six weeks of his being in this country and my Mother has nursed him.
I do not enclose you the letters or send you all the particulars because Haslam said he should call on you very soon and he may have seen you before you receive this note; if that should not be the case, you will be pleased to hear that he went part of the way with him. Keats went on board the Maria Crowiher, for Naples, and about noon reached Gravesend.
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Taylor, Mr Haslam, and Mr. Wood- house accompamed Mr. Keats to Gravesend, and left him at 4 o'clock on Sunday afternoon— He was then comfortably settled in his new habitation with every prospect of having a pleasant voyage. Brown did not go to Italy until August, I am certain he has some spell that attaches them to him, or else he has fortunately met with a set of friends that I did not believe could be found in the world.
May I hope, at some time to receive a letter from you? Perhaps you have an objection to write to a stranger. If so, I will try not to be very much dis- appointed if your objection is too strong to be over- come. In Haslam you will see the best person in the world to raise your spirits, he feels so certain your brother will soon recover his health. What an unconscionable first letter.
They had been beating about with a contrary wind ever since they left London, and at last put into Portsmouth. The vessel put into Portsmouth on September the 28th, and Keats visited Mr. I had a message for you from your brother before he left Hampstead as well as a lock of hair, both of which I forgot. He parti- cularly requests you will avoid colds and coughs, and desires you never to go into the cold air out of the hothouse. The hair I myself cut off for you. It is very short, as he had little at the time. If you wish to use it in a manner that requires more pray mention it, I have some that was cut off two or three years ago I believe, and there is no difference in the color.
The Cornish I mean visits a family of the name of Goss or something like it; she told me she was fre- quently in the habit of calling, with them, on and Abbey; but if she described her intimacy falsely, all I can say is that she is a foolish woman and if ever I see her again, I will ask her what she could mean.
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At any rate, her daughter, whose name is Grace, remembers you about six years ago, but she was so stupid I could make her understand nothing. I believe we shall receive that letter or one like it shortly. If that is the case I will send it to you or copy it for you. I received your last letter. By way of saying something I began to talk about you. Not that I expect her to remem- ber a word about it, or even that either of us exists.
She said she was soon going to stay with Goss and that she should most likely call with her on your family. I saw Dilke the other day and delivered your message. She desires me to return her love. Written inside cover, Wentworth Place Novr. So far they had had a tolerable voyage from the time they left Portsmouth.
He did not think himself better or worse but his spirits were not very good. C however says your brother was a little recovered, at least quite as much so as he could expect, the day after his arrival. He says, if he can but get his spirits good, he will answer for his being well in a moderate time; which shows he does not consider he has any complaint of consequence.
I have written to him today and directed the letter there. He arranged the lodgings for Keats and Severn in Rome in the Piazza di Spagna, the house bemg opposite his own. Hampstead 4 o'clock Dec. Write to George as soon as you receive that the exertion might fatigue him. When Severn wrote, they were in Rome after a most wretched journey. Your brother went out on horseback every day. I am sure the climate is far preferable besides the disturbed state Naples seems likely to be in, and which no doubt in- duced them to quit it.
I can scarcely bid you goodbye, even in a letter. I always made an awkward bow. My dear Girl I have been this week wishing to write to you but putting it off every day in hopes of having something concerning your brother to communicate which would not give you pain, but it is in vain to wait any longer.
John Keats. I am now at a very pleasant Cottage window, looking onto a beautiful hilly country, with a glimpse of the sea; the morning is very fine. Ask yourself my love whether you are not very cruel to have so entrammelled me, so destroyed my freedom. Fanny Brawne () was first Keats's neighbor and later his fiancée. The eldest child of a widowed mother, she at first perplexed and exasperated the.
If I had written this letter two hours sooner I should have owned to you that I had scarcely a hope remaining and even now when I have just re- ceived a letter from Severn with the nearest ap- proaching to good news that we have had since this last attack, there is nothing to rest upon, merely a hope, a chance. He had been ill for 17 days and did not appear to get better, I judged of you by myself and though I was then about to write I deferred it for some time in hopes a letter more cheering might arrive.
I cannot think I was wrong. She has insisted on writing to him by this post, take care of the letter— if too late, let it be returned unopened He did not get better nor did he get worse But could I conceal from myself that with him, not getting better was getting worse? If ever I gave up hope, I gave it up then I tried to destroy it, I tried to persuade myself that I should never see him again. I felt that you ought no longer to remain in ignorance and the whole of this day I have been thinking how I could tell you. I am glad, very glad, I waited, for I have just received the account I spoke of in the beginning of this letter.
His mmd is in a state of peace for the final leave he has taken of this world and all its future hopes, ,. After describmg his anxieties, he sends hxs compliments to Miss him back to us. Surely, that is saying a great deal — and yet the reason he gives for that hope destroys it, for the last 3 days the letter was dated the of Jan your brother had been calm, he had resigned him- self to die.
But I will say no more about it.
John Keats Love Letter To Fanny Brawne – 13 October 1819
In a week or ten days I will enclose you the letter. You should have it sooner but we are obliged, in consequence of a mes- sage respecting money to send it to a friend in London first. Do you think Abby will ever be induced to give his consent. Ixii , nearly nine years later Dec. See also letter No. Much as I have loved him, I never knew how closely he was wound about my heart.
Then she — she was to have it told to her, and the worst had been concealed from her knowledge ever since your send with it any news that would give you pleasure. Believe too my Love that our friends think and speak for the best, and if their best is not our best it is not their fault, When I am better I will speak with you at large on these subjects, if there is any occasion — I think there is none. I am rather nervous to day perhaps from being a little recovered and suffering my mind to take little excursions beyond the doors and windows.
I take it for a good sign, but as it must not be encouraged you had better delay seeing me till tomorrow. Do not take the trouble of writing much: Remember me to your Mother and Margaret. I read your note in bed last night, and that might be the reason of my sleeping so much better. I think Mr Brown is right in supposing you may stop too long with me, so very nervous as I am. Send me every evening a written Good night. If you come for a few minutes about six it may be the best time. Should you ever fancy me too low-spirited I must warn you to ascbribe [for ascribe] it to the medicine I am at present taking which is of a nerve-shaking nature — I shall impute any depression I may experience to this cause.
I have been writing with a vile old pen the whole week, which is excessively ungallant. The fault is in the Quill: I did not know whether to say purple or blue, so in the mixture of the thought wrote purplue which may be an excellent name for a colour made up of those two, and would suit well to start next spring. Be very careful of open doors and windows and going without your duffle grey God bless you Love!
Do not let your mother suppose that you hurt me by writing at night. I would fain that you call me Love still. To see you happy and in high spirits is a great consolation to me — still let me believe that you are not half so happy as my restoration would make you. I am nervous, I own, and may think myself worse than I really am; if so you must indulge me, and pamper with that sort of tenderness you have manifested towards me in different Letters.
When I send this round I shall be in the front parlour watching to see you show yourself for a minute in the garden. How illness stands as a barrier betwixt me and you! Even if I was well — I must make myself as good a Philosopher as possible. Now I have had opportunities of passing nights anxious and awake I have found other thoughts intrude upon me.
Indeed I will not deceive you with respect to my Health.
This is the fact as far as I know. I have been confined three weeks and am not yet well — this proves that there is something wrong about me which my constitution will either conquer or give way to — Let us hope for the best. I say you cannot conceive; it is impossible you should look with such eyes upon me as I have upon you: Forgive me if I wander a little this evening, for I have been all day employed in a very abstract Poem and I am in deep love with you - two things which must excuse me.
I have, believe me, not been an age in letting you take possession of me; the very first week I knew you I wrote myself your vassal; but burnt the Letter as the very next time I saw you I thought you manifested some dislike to me. If you should ever feel for Man at the first sight what I did for you, I am lost.
Yet I should not quarrel with you, but hate myself if such a thing were to happen - only I should burst if the thing were not as fine as a Man as you are as a Woman. Perhaps I am too vehement, then fancy me on my knees, especially when I mention a part of your Letter which hurt me; you say speaking of Mr Severn "but you must be satisfied in knowing that I admired you much more than your friend.
You are, I love you; all I can bring you is a swooning admiration of your Beauty. I hold that place among Men which snub-nosed brunettes with meeting eyebrows do among women - they are trash to me - unless I should find one among them with a fire in her heart like the one that burns in mine.