George Keats Bio Wins Louisville History Award

The University Press of Kentucky author, Lawrence M. Crutcher, was named winner of Samuel W. Thomas Louisville History Book award for George Keats of Kentucky: A Life.

John Keats's biographers have rarely been fair to George Keats (1797-1841)-pushing him to the background as the younger brother, painting him as a prodigal son, or labeling him as the "business brother." Some have even condemned him as a heartless villain who took more than his fair share of an inheritance and abandoned the ailing poet to pursue his own interests. In this authoritative biography, author Lawrence M. Crutcher demonstrates that George Keats deserves better. Crutcher traces his subject from Regency London to the American frontier, correcting the misconceptions surrounding the Keats brothers' relationship and revealing the details of George's remarkable life in Louisville, Kentucky.

Brilliantly illustrated with more than ninety color photographs, this engaging book reveals how George Keats embraced new business opportunities to become an important member of the developing urban community. In addition, George Keats of Kentucky offers a rare and fascinating glimpse into nineteenth-century life, commerce, and entrepreneurship in Louisville and the Bluegrass.

Lawrence Crutcher is the great-great-great-grandson of George Keats and the author of The Keats Family.

"Delivers a rich, fully drawn picture of the brother of John Keats. Until now, no biographer has delved into George Keats's life so completely."-Carol Kyros Walker, author of Walking North with Keats

"An interesting account of an Englishman coming to America in the early 19th century and making a life for himself and his family in Kentucky - his acclimation, acculturation, successes, and failures."-James Holmberg, curator of special collections at The Filson Historical Society