Forever and Forever: The Courtship of Henry Longfellow and Fanny Appleton

Kilpack (Lord Fenton’s Folly) combines fact and fiction in this well-researched, emotionally charged tale based on the real courtship of Henry Longfellow, America’s first professional poet, and Fanny Appleton, an intelligent Boston heiress. The relationship was rocky and unlikely. When Henry meets Fanny in Europe in 1836, shortly after the death of his first wife, he is immediately impressed by Fanny’s sharp mind, fiery disposition, and inquisitive nature. Fanny is intrigued by his intellectual capabilities and his faith in her abilities, but is put off by their 10-year age difference and his lower station. Henry maintains a friendship with Fanny’s family, and his dogged pursuit of Fanny confuses her; the widower’s ardent attentions don’t jibe with her ideas about love that lasts forever. Henry’s inner turmoil is absolutely heart-wrenching, as his continuing passion finds expression in his writing but meets resistance and even unkindness at times from Fanny and her friends. Kilpack vividly re-creates the era in which the couple lived and constructs a love story that even the pickiest poet would declare fit for the ages. Agent: Lane Heymont, Seymour Agency. (Apr.)