Bright Star, Green Light: The Beautiful and Damned Lives of John Keats and F. Scott Fitzgerald

by Jonathan Bate

A dazzling biography of two interwoven, tragic lives: John Keats and F. Scott Fitzgerald.

‘For awhile after you quit Keats,’ Fitzgerald once wrote, ‘All other poetry seems to be only whistling or humming.’

John Keats died two hundred years ago, in February 1821. F. Scott Fitzgerald defined a decade that began one hundred years ago, the Jazz Age.

In this biography, prizewinning author Jonathan Bate recreates these two shining, tragic lives in parallel. Not only was Fitzgerald profoundly influenced by Keats, titling Tender is the Night and other works from the poet’s lines, but the two lived with echoing fates: both died young, loved to drink, were plagued by tuberculosis, were haunted by their first love, and wrote into a new decade of release, experimentation and decadence.

Luminous and vital, this biography goes through the looking glass to meet afresh two of the greatest and best-known Romantic writers in their twinned centuries.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Audiobook, History, Literary Criticism, Poetry

432 pages, Paperback

Published February 3, 2022

About the author

Jonathan Bate CBE FBA FRSL is an English academic, biographer, critic, broadcaster, novelist and scholar of Shakespeare, Romanticism and Ecocriticism. He is also Professor of English Literature at the University of Oxford and Provost of Worcester College, Oxford. A Man Booker Prize judge in 2014.

He studied at the University of Cambridge and Harvard University. He has been King Alfred Professor of English Literature at Liverpool University, Professor of Shakespeare and Renaissance Literature at the University of Warwick. He is married to author and biographer Paula Byrne. He has also written one novel, The Cure for Love.

Reviews

[talia ♡]

AH!! so some books really are written especially for me!!!

[Ali Miremadi · Rating 3 out of 5]

A brave concept to borrow Plutarch’s model of parallel lives and use it to compare and contrast Keats and Scott Fitzgerald. It mostly works but the best bits by far are the close readings of ‘Gatsby’, ‘Tender is the Night’, some of the Odes, ‘Eve of St Agnes’ and ‘Isabella’. Bate knows he is pushing the connection and has fun doing it. His wrestling with the grace of FSF’s prose and ugliness of much of his life allows for a whole new interpretation of negative capability which is enjoyable to experience in itself. This book is an excuse to spend hours with the writing of Keats and FSF - why not?

[Tumblyhome (Caroline) · Rating 3 out of 5]

As part of my Keatsian late summer I have been listening to this book on Audible. I really like anything Jonathan Bates writes, he is an amazing scholar and communicator…. I am not either, just an interested reader… so take my review as just an uneducated opinion

But this book fell a little flat for me. His premise is that the two writers had interwoven lives. While I agree that they followed the same creative journeys and that both died younger than they should have, I couldn’t quite see the connection as being as close as Bates writes here.

Fitzgerald clearly admired Keats, that is seen in his stories and book titles (e.g Tender is the Night is a line from Keats). Fitzgerald themes were often Keats obsessions and he championed Keats all through his life. But as to souls joined in creativity… I sort of disagree.

The book switched between a bit of Keats life then a bit of Fitzgeralds life. It was like watching tennis.
All in all, maybe it would have been better being a biography of Fitzgerald showing how Keats influenced him rather than a Keats/Fitzgerald back and forth. This may be my opinion because I had just read the Andrew Motion biography of Keats. That book was more detailed, it was a different book. But I just struggled to see the connections between the writers as Bates does.

But not saying I didn’t like Bright Star Green Light…It was a good book to read and enjoyable.. just I didn’t quite agree with the thesis put forward and that is always perfectly OK. But I think a full biography of Fitzgerald drawing on Keats life would have worked better for me.

[Alice · Rating 5 out of 5]

a book made in a lab to appeal specifically to my interests I think

[Alex :) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bate’s writing and observations are brilliant but this book suffers so much from its parallel lives model.

[Stuart Ayris · Rating 2 out of 5]

To begin with, I will say I will definitely read this book as it looks fascinating. This review is purely concerning the audiobook version. The narrator appears to think he is on the stage rather than reading the book aloud. It is ham acting at its worst. So bad was it - and I love both Fitzgerald and Keats - I could not get past the fourth chapter.

As I said, I will definitely read the book. But as I write this review, I'm still trying to get this narrator's voice out of my head.

[Sadie-Rae Gartell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book. As someone who is a huge fan of both Keats and FSF I was shocked to not know how influenced FSF was by Keats! I found this book really interesting, with some opinions that has made me go back and read poems/stories. Jonathan Bate has done a great job!

I gave 3 stars because at times I found it a bit repetitive but I certainly wouldn’t have been able to create anything as remotely decent as this book.

[John Hounslow · Rating 1 out of 5]

The author has, in my opinion, stretched the parallels between these two lives to unacceptable degree - interesting but ultimately disappointing.

[JAMES COYLE · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is much to enjoy in this double biography with a few caveats. I didn't know much about Keats's life, so enjoyed that narrative very much. I found the technical discussion of his poetry - the Negative Capability bits - difficult to comprehend, but kept with it and think I see what the Author was driving at.

Like all reviewers I agree that THE GREAT GATSBY is Fitzgeralds's crowning achievement. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I found 'TENDER IS THE NIGHT' perplexing because the breakdowns of the female protagonist are never described. Instead we hear after the event how they effected relations between the other characters in the story. I saw this as a bit of a cop out on Fitzgerald's part. Was it just too raw as the incidents were based on Zelda's real life breakdowns or was he just not up to finding the right words for the scenes ?

[Autumn Rybin · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a history lover I thoroughly enjoyed this, regardless of the fact I don’t believe the author proved their thesis. The subtitle of this book is perfect. This is a biography about two men who died tragically young and made beautiful art. Oh, and Fitzgerald really liked Keats.

But in the introduction the author says these two men led parallel lives that are uncannily similar. And…. I didn’t get that. So drop that expectation and you’ll be great. I loved loved loved everything I learned about these two and their dramatic romanticism.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this because Fitzgerald is my favorite author and he revered Keats. Bate is employing the age-old technique of a dual biography - sort of compare and contrast. His style is chatty and accessible, but at times he strains to demonstrate similarities between the two writers - often to the point of annoyance. At any rate, it is well-researched and organized, and I never tire of reading about Fitzgerald!

[Symon Vegro · Rating 5 out of 5]

A superb book. I have adored Keats all my life, and it’s made me think I should probably adore FSF too (and forgive him his faults). At the very least I will re-read ‘The Great Gatsby’ and delve into his short stories.

[Paul Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't find this easy to read and at times I felt the interweaving a little contrived at time. As they each approach death the comparison becomes more poignant. I had no idea that Fitzgerald was so appreciative of Keats, Masefield and Shakespeare,

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review to follow....

[Ward Hammond · Rating 5 out of 5]

While on a recent trip to the Historic Lake Lure Inn in NC I searched for a biography of F. Scott Fitzgerald. This one came up as included in my Audible membership. What an interesting read.

[Georgie Wardall · Rating 2 out of 5]

i was fooled by a beautiful cover again

[Flob · Rating 3 out of 5]

An ok sort of book. Not sure that Keats and FSF make a convincing parallel life.

[Bethany Brohm · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting and enjoyable read about Fitzgerald and Keats!

[Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dolly Wilde was Oscar's niece, not his daughter.

[Peter Sumby · Rating 4 out of 5]

J Bate is great. I get why this seemed a good idea - Fitzgerald has Keats as a main inspiration. Not entirely sure it totally held together