William Blake's Water-colours Illustrating the Poems of Thomas Gray

by Geoffrey L. Keynes, William Blake (Painter)

Coffee table book

Genres: Poetry, Nonfiction

72 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1972

About the author

Sir Geoffrey Langdon Keynes (25 March 1887 -5 July 1982) was a British surgeon and author.

He began his career as a physician in World War I, before practicing at St Bartholomew's Hospital in London, where he made notable innovations in the fields of blood transfusion and breast cancer surgery.

Keynes was also a publishing scholar and bibliographer of English literature and English medical history, focusing primarily on William Blake and William Harvey.

Dr. Keynes was married Margaret Elizabeth Darwin, the granddaughter of Charles Darwin.
His older brother was the prominent economist John Maynard Keynes.

Reviews

[Spencer]

The standouts: “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard,” the Norse Translations, “Ode On The Death Of A Favourite Cat Drowned In A Tub Of Gold Fishes,” and (most of) “The Bard”
Blake’s illustrations are, of course, exquisite. They range greatly in mood, but always have incredible liveliness and force. The least exceptional paintings are those which adorn the most exceptional of the poems, the “Elegy.” Gray, off his tiptoes, proves less compatible with Blake, though (I do recall) at least one page astounding me—and that Blake put his own name on a grave was quite touching, indeed.