Introduction
The introduction sets out the premise of the book: that in Keats’ medical Notebook, we have a manuscript that reveals the true depth of the poet’s medical knowledge as well as the significant influence this exercised on his poetry. Its first part offers an overview of the chapters of commentary, and briefly discusses major works in the field, indicating the ways in which the present book is in dialogue with this body of scholarship. The second part discusses Keats’ medical Notebook as a manuscript, detailing its layout. It reveals the challenges presented by the manuscript, and discusses the editorial principles governing the present edition, explaining their rationale. It concludes with a description of the editorial and bibliographic symbols used in the edition presented in the book.