Chatterton begins in modern time, following a young English poet into an antique shop where he hopes to make a little extra cash for his financially struggling family. Instead he finds a portrait of a middle-aged gentleman that catches his attention so completely that he forgets the money he came to earn and instead makes an even trade for the portrait. Charles Wychwood, the poet, quickly becomes obsessed with the portrait when he discovers, with the help of a friend, that it resembles the poet Thomas Chatterton, who reportedly died when he was only seventeen.
Charles travels to meet the original owner of the painting and receives a set of documents from the owner's lover. While sorting these documents, Charles discovers a manuscript with the initials T.C. signed across the bottom. The manuscripts appears to be a.....
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