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Reviews
Bright Star: Love Letters and Poems of John Keats to Fanny Brawne by John Keats, Jane Campion
ehalverson's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
5.0
Full review to come.
laurelsanders's review against another edition
3.0
Read it as a companion piece to the film- I enjoyed Ode to a Nightingale in particular but I'm unsure of what to think of the book as a whole.
kerryanndunn's review against another edition
5.0
After watching Jane Campion's film Bright Star which is about the love affair between the poet John Keats and the literal "girl next door" Fanny Brawne, I immediately wanted to read his poetry. Alas, when I went to my nearest bookstore there were no books of his poetry to be found!! On my way back out the door, I found this book sitting on the trade paperback table. It's a great little companion to the gorgeous film containing all his letters written to Fanny and all his poems written about her. There just aren't romances like this anymore. . .
jmiae's review against another edition
5.0
Call me biased, but I have a hard time rating anything by Keats less than 5 stars. I know not all of his poems are good, but I'm very fond of him as a person so I'm willing to overlook any shortcomings in his verses. Also, this rating and review are only for the first portion of this book--his letters to Fanny Brawne.
It's a bit of an auspicious point in my life to be reading these letters. The way he felt about Fanny and the suffering he went through because he did not think she felt as strongly as he did--it's quite heartbreaking. Made all the more so, too, because when he left for Rome he never saw her again. I wondered periodically throughout if Keats would have minded having his letters to her published. He was very jealous of others seeing the incredibly lovely words he wrote to her when he was alive. But I like to think he would be pleased with how his letters, once made public, eventually immortalized the love he felt so strongly for his Girl. I also wonder if his love for her could have lasted if he had not died at 25. I guess we'll never know, but I will take some comfort from the knowledge that there was once a man who loved a woman so beautifully and so intensely, and that from that love wrote the most beautiful poetry.
It's a bit of an auspicious point in my life to be reading these letters. The way he felt about Fanny and the suffering he went through because he did not think she felt as strongly as he did--it's quite heartbreaking. Made all the more so, too, because when he left for Rome he never saw her again. I wondered periodically throughout if Keats would have minded having his letters to her published. He was very jealous of others seeing the incredibly lovely words he wrote to her when he was alive. But I like to think he would be pleased with how his letters, once made public, eventually immortalized the love he felt so strongly for his Girl. I also wonder if his love for her could have lasted if he had not died at 25. I guess we'll never know, but I will take some comfort from the knowledge that there was once a man who loved a woman so beautifully and so intensely, and that from that love wrote the most beautiful poetry.