In lucid, graceful prose she [Miller] manages to bring us closer to the life and work of a poet who never seemed that far away... I didn't want this book to end.

An enlightening and perceptive introduction to (or reminder of) the great Romantic poet's life and work.

Outstanding... [Miller's] knowledge of all things Keatsian is formidable... For newcomers to Keats, Miller's is the best short introduction I have come across.

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.

Lucasta Miller's task, which she carries out very successfully, is to strip away what we think when we think about Keats... This excellent book... enters an already crowded market of Keats biographies, but earns its place through its firm basis in precise reading. Miller is empathetic, and relishes Keats's best phrases.

Lucasta 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. A timely and fresh re-appropriation of Keats... satisfying, engaging and accessible.

Excellent... [Keats] challenges us to make up our own minds about the self-styled 'chamelion poet'.

A readable guide to the poet's life.

Creates a vivid picture of Keats's writing process.

[A] lively book.

Miller reveals the life of a pugnacious, energetic, free-thinking poet.

Stunningly good—a brainy page-turner that’s gorgeous and frightening in equal measure. The Illness Lesson dazzled me.

Narrated from a painfully intimate perspective, The Illness Lesson explores the consequences of an outrageous medical treatment inflicted upon adolescent girls in 1870’s New England to cure “hysteria”. In Clare Beams’ luminous and suspenseful prose, the unspeakable is spoken, falteringly at first, then with triumphant strength. Its timeliness will be evident to readers for whom the suppression of female sexuality / identity is an ongoing and urgent issue.

Beams excels in her depiction of Caroline, an intriguingly complex character, and in her depiction of the school, which allows the reader a clear view of changing gender roles in the period, with parallels to today’s sexual abuse scandals. This powerful and resonant feminist story will move readers

This suspenseful and vividly evocative tale expertly explores women’s oppression as well as their sexuality through the eyes of a heroine who is sometimes maddening, at other times sympathetic, and always wholly compelling and beautifully rendered

A disturbing but brilliant narrative . . . a rare treat.

A great tapestry of busy-ness . . . Walter's descriptive passage are marvellous