Dorothy Wordsworth

Pamela Woof

These two journals provide a unique picture of daily life with Wordsworth, his friendship with Coleridge, and the composition of his poems. They also offer wonderfully vivid descriptions of the landscape and people of Grasmere and Alfoxden in Somerset, which inspired Wordsworth and have enchanted generations of readers. This edition includes full explanatory notes on the people and places Dorothy writes about. - ;'I went & sate with W & walked backwards & forwards in the Orchard till dinner time - he read me his poem. I broiled Beefsteaks.' Dorothy Wordsworth's journals are a unique record of her life with her brother William, at the time when he was at the height of his poetic powers. Invaluable for the insight they give into the daily life of the poet and his friendship with Coleridge, they are also remarkable for their spontaneity and immediacy, and for the vivid descriptions of people, places, and incidents that inspired some of Wordsworth's best-loved poems. The Grasmere Journal was begun at Dove Cottage in May 1800 and kept for three years. Dorothy notes the walks and the weather, the friends, country neighbours and beggars on the roads; she sets down accounts of the garden, of Wordsworth's marriage, their concern for Coleridge, the composition of poetry. The earlier Alfoxden Journal was written during 1797-8, when the Wordsworths lived near Coleridge in Somerset .Not intended for publication, but to 'give Wm Pleasure by it', both journals have a quality recognized by Wordsworth when he wrote of Dorothy that 'she gave me eyes, she gave me ears'. This edition brings the reader closer to the hurried flow of Dorothy's writing and includes rich explanatory notes about the places and people described in the journals. -

The Grasmere and Alfoxden Journals

Thoughts on my Sick-Bed

Dorothy Wordsworth's The Grasmere Journals, begun in May 1800 while at Dove Cottage, and continued for nearly three years until January 1803, is perhaps the best-loved of all journals. Noting the walks and the weather, the friends, country neighbors and beggars on the roads, William Wordsworth's marriage, the composition of poetry, and their concern for Coleridge, her words bring those first years to vivid and intimate life. This edition has been prepared directly from the manuscripts with undeciphered words clarified, first thoughts, later insertions and deletions indicated, and Dorothy's hasty punctuation largely restored. It also offers rich explanatory notes, containing much new detail on friends and family, the scarcely-known people of the Grasmere valley, the books that were read, and the connections with William Wordsworth's poetry.

The Grasmere Journals

Recollections of a Tour Made in Scotland A.D. 1803

Journals of Dorothy Wordsworth

Journals ...

Recollections of a Tour Made in Scotland, A.D. 1803

Walter Scott

William Wordsworth

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Robert Southey

Sir George Howland Beaumont

Lady Margaret Willes Beaumont

Being Letters from Coleridge, Wordsworth and His Sister, Southey, and Sir Walter Scott to Sir George and Lady Beaumont of Coleorton, Leicestershire, 1803-1834

Memorials of Coleorton

From Longman's Cultural Editions series, Dorothy Wordsworth, edited by internationally acclaimed expert Susan Levin, is the first to present Wordsworth's writing in a single volume representing all genres to attract her pen. She emerges as a journalist, poet, traveler, social activist, and crucial presence in the Wordsworth household.

Including Lyrical Ballads, and the Miscellaneous Pieces of the Author : with Additional Poems, a New Pref., and a Suppl. Essay, in 2 Vol

Poems by William Wordsworth

Including Lyrical Ballads, and the Miscellaneous Pieces of the Author

Mary Moorman

The journals Dorothy kept at Alfoxden in 1798 and, later, in Grasmere "to please William" are more than a valuable record of their day to day life; an intense and minute observation of nature together with a genuine poetic imagination in prose poetry, a delight in its own right. Her vision and influence can be seen clearly in many of her brother's poems and these are printed in an appendix to the book.

The Alfoxden Journal, 1798; the Grasmere Journals, 1800-1803

A continuous text made up of extracts from Dorothy Wordsworth's Journal and a selection of her brother's poems. Dorothy Wordsworth kept her Journal 'because I shall give William pleasure by it'. In doing so, she never dreamt that she was giving future readers not only the chance to enjoy her fresh and sensitive delight in the beauties that surrounded her at Grasmere but also a rare opportunity to observe 'the progress of a poet's mind'. Colette Clark's skilful and perceptive arrangement of Dorothy's entries alongside William's poems throws a unique light on his creative process, and shows how the interdependence of brother and sister was a vital part in the writing of many of his great poems. By reading these poems in relation to the Journal it is possible to trace the processes by which they were committed to paper and so achieve a fuller understanding of them. A writer in her own right, Dorothy kept her Journal sparse in personal and emotional detail. Yet there is, nevertheless, a deep emotional undercurrent running beneath the surface which only falters when William marries Mary Hutchinson. Never again was Dorothy to achieve the freedom, spontaneity and the limpidly beautiful prose with which she infused and irradiated the Grasmere Journals.

Extracts from the Journal of Dorothy Wordsworth and from the Poems of William Wordsworth

Home at Grasmere

Dorothy Wordsworth

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