‘Berg Professor Finds Nearly 500 Previously Unpublished Letters In An Attic In England
While doing research for a book, Dr. Grant Scott, professor of English at Muhlenberg College, discovered nearly 500 manuscript letters in an attic in England.Friday, June 3, 2005 01:59 PM
The letters, most of which date from the mid 1800s, were unpublished and provide new information about an important member of the Keats circle.
With the discovery, a research mission that started off as a small book project took a dramatic turn. The finished product, Joseph Severn: Letters and Memoirs (Ashgate, 2005), represents a significant work of recovery, printing many of these new letters along with three important memoirs that have until now appeared only in inaccurate excerpts. The volume also offers 33 illustrations that demonstrate the range of Severn’s talents as a painter. Scott has recently published follow-up articles on Severn in Britain’s Times Literary Supplement (March 18, 2005) and Saturday Guardian (April 16).
In the book, the first modern scholarly edition of Severn’s work, Scott re-examines the man long known as the deathbed companion of John Keats, challenging traditional ideas about Severn’s life and character and making a compelling case for his re-evaluation.
Scott will return to England in June to deliver a talk about Severn’s life at the Keats House in Hampstead.
