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Keats House Review

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Keats House

Address: Wentworth Pl., Keats Grove, Hampstead, London, NW3 2RR
Phone: 020/7332-3820
www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/keats

Category: Museums/Galleries
Location: Regent's Park and Hampstead

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Fodor's Review:

Here you can see the plum tree under which the young Romantic poet composed "Ode to a Nightingale," many of his original manuscripts, his library, and other possessions he managed to acquire in his short life. It was in February 1820 that Keats coughed blood up into his handkerchief and exclaimed, "I know the color of that blood; it is arterial blood. I cannot be deceived in that color. That drop of blood is my death warrant. I must die." He left this house in September, moved to Rome, and died of consumption there, in early 1821, at age 25. There are frequent guided tours and special events, such as poetry readings. At this writing, the Keats House is scheduled to reopen in November 2009 after a major refurbishment; the plans include a full redecoration in the style of Keats's time and new exhibition spaces to display previously unseen objects from the museum's collection. Check the Web site for details.