The Remarkable Young Man: Cecil Roberts

At the close of the year 1820, two young men arrived in Rome. One was a poet of twenty-five, the other an artist of 26. Within three months of their arrival at the lodging house on the Spanish Steps, the poet died. The house became a shrine for the English-speaking world, for the poet was John Keats. The friend who had devotedly nursed him was Joseph Severn. Penniless, almost starving, Severn's recognition after nursing Keats brought him commissions, friendships, and entreè into high social and aristocratic circles. The beautiful Lady Westmorland, the Duchess of Devonshire, Napoleon's mother, Madame Mere and Princess Borghese are only some of the titled who become part of Severn's new world.