"I should detest," wrote Dorothy Wordsworth, "the idea of setting myself up as an author." Protesting to Lady Beaumont she explained "I have not the powers which Coleridge thinks I have--I know it." Despite her self-deprecatory words, however, the reader of Dorothy Wordsworth's letters will discover a skill with language and a power of description that rivals even the poetry of her more famous brother.
In this selection, Alan G. Hill offers seventy complete letters that together provide a fascinating portrait of the writer and her surroundings. Spontaneous, intimate, and lively, they...

JOURNALS OF DOROTHY WORDSWORTH edited by WILLIAM KNIGHT. VOLUME I originally published in 1904. PREFATORY NOTE ...... vii I. DOROTHY WORDSWORTHS JOURNAL, WRITTEN AT ALFOXDEN FROM 20TH JANUARY TO 22ND MAY 1798 ..... i II. DOROTHY WORDSWORTHS JOURNAL OF DAYS SPENT AT HAMBURGH IN SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER 1798 ...... 19 III. DOROTHY WORDSWORTHS JOURNAL, WRITTEN AT GRASMERE i4TH MAY TO 2isT DECEM BER 1800 ....... 29 IV. DOROTHY WORDSWORTHS JOURNAL, WRITTEN AT GRASMERE FROM IOTH OCTOBER 1801 TO 29TH DECEMBER 1801 . . . 61 V. DOROTHY WORDSWORTHS JOURNAL, WRITTEN AT GRASMERE FROM IST JANUARY 1802 TO STH...

This volume contains more than 150 letters, most previously unpublished, which appeared too late for inclusion in the second edition of The Letters of William and Dorothy Wordsworth (1967-88). They are indispensable for understanding the poet and the inner dynamics of the Wordsworth circle. These letters, varied in tone and subject matter, will do much to dispel the idea that he was invariably a reluctant or reserved correspondent. Dorothy Wordsworth, by contrast, fills out all the details of domestic life which her brother thought it unnecessary to dwell on, and her letters add their own...

Throws light on William Wordsworth's creative process, and shows how the interdependence of brother and sister was a vital part in the writing of many of his great poems. This work helps trace the processes by which they were committed to paper.

Dorothy Wordsworth (1771-1885) published nothing in her lifetime, save short extracts from her journals and letters which her brother, William, included in his Guide to the Lakes. She spent most of her life caring for her brother and his family, working, traveling and studying with him and his friends who include de Quincey and Coleridge. This selection for the first time presents her writings as a discrete text, giving her a separate authorial voice from that of her brother and bringing her to a new generation of students, scholars and enthusiasts.

Wordsworth's journals, analyzed...