Keats

A New Yorker Best Book of the Year

“[Miller] digs into the backstories of her subject’s most famous poems to uncover aspects of his life and work that challenge well-worn romantic myths. The irresistible result: an often irreverent yet compassionate approach to the poet that cuts through the hagiography . . . Her unpacking of his language, which is so brilliantly suited to representing material bodily experience, is often refreshingly matter of fact . . . Keats the man also emerges as fully embodied.” —Elizabeth Lowry, Wall Street Journal
 
“Detailed and original . . . intimate . . . Miller conveys a strong personal connection with the poet . . . This penetrating and charming study will enchant Keats’s fans.” —Publishers Weekly
 
“Subtly intertwining biographical detail with crisp readings of the poetry, Miller creates an insightful, vibrant portrait.” —Kirkus (starred)
 
“[Miller’s] knowledge of all things Keatsian is formidable . . . she untangles the richly sensuous language of Keats’s poems . . . The best short introduction I have come across.” —John Carey, The Sunday Times
 
“Miller disrobes the myth, while helping us to appreciate what she calls Keats’s ‘vertiginous originality’. As a wittily perceptive introduction to (or reminder of) the poet and his work, her book is unlikely to be surpassed any time soon.” —Miranda Seymour, Financial Times
 
“Lucasta Miller’s task, which she carries out very successfully, is to strip away what we think when we think about Keats . . . Miller is empathetic, and relishes Keats’s best phrases.” —Philip Hensher, Spectator
 
“Miller’s brilliant life of Keats, told through a close reading of ‘nine poems and one epitaph’, reminds us more than once of the way in which Keats can deploy Shakespearean techniques to stop us in our readerly tracks . . . timely and fresh . . . satisfying, engaging and accessible.” —Rowan Williams, New Statesman