This volume reprints an account by William Wordsworth's nephew, a classical scholar of considerable merit, of his tour of Greece in 1832. Wordsworth's descriptions of the ancient sites are steeped in learning and a deep love of Greek literature and culture. It also provides a snapshot of Greece at a time when it was just recovering from Turkish rule and could still be a perilous place for visitors. Athens itself was little more than a village in an impoverished rural setting'. The book begins with an overview of Christopher Wordsworth's life (he later became headmaster of Harrow) and travels.

"At last we reached a circular enclosure among the grass and scanty trees. We rushed in and it was like getting into a tropical greenhouse with the roof off. There were tall trees and long creepers making monkey ropes, large flowers hanging, great cactus trees, aloes and all sorts of beautiful things crowded together, so that one could hardly squeeze through. I should have liked to stop and stare at the vegetation but on we rushed, over walls and to the tower we had heard of, which is close to the outer wall. We did not stay even to walk round the tower but out we rushed again, like people...