Keats' father died in 1804 and his mother in 1810, but he did not live with her after the age of 10 (he was apprenticed to an apothecary), but rather with his grandmother, when he was not at boarding school. Very soon after his father died his mother remarried, but it was a disaster and she and the children ran away from her new husband. Their grandmother took custody of the children, and Keats' mother did not reappear until 1809.

He grew up to become one of the greatest poets of the English language, even though he died very young.

References

Microsoft Encarta 98 Encyclopedia, 1993-97
Dictionary of National Biography
Rossetti, William M. Life of John Keats. (New York: AMS Press, 1971)
Woof, Robert, and Hebron, Stephen. John Keats. (Grasmere: Wordsworth Trust, 1995)
Ward, Eileen. John Keats: The Making of a Poet. (New York: Viking Press, 1963)
"John Keats (1795-1821)." [Includes portrait]. Available at: http://portico.bl.uk/exhibitions/keats/overview.html
"John 'Doctor' Keats (1795-1821)." Available at: http://www.incompetech.com/authors/keats/

Indexes

European
Uk/great Britain
18th Century
19th Century
Literature
School-age Years, Adolescence
Unmarried Mother, Single Parent (Mother or Father) Unable to Cope
Grandparents
Parent(s) Died, Disappeared or Became Incapacitated
Birth Siblings Placed Together