Dorothy Wordsworth, A Longman Cultural Edition

by Dorothy Wordsworth, Susan Levin

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.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Classics, Memoir, Biography

384 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Dorothy Mae Ann Wordsworth was an English poet and diarist. She was the sister of the Romantic poet William Wordsworth, and the two were close for all of their lives. Dorothy Wordsworth did not set out to be an author, and her writings comprise a series of letters, diary entries, and short stories.

She also edited much of William’s work. She was one of two people he attributed to the development of his intellect. Without her he would never have achieved such poetic heights.

Reviews

[bibliodufi · Rating 4 out of 5]

We might be two hundred years apart and our lifestyles are completely different, but Dorothy Wordsworth is describing my Lakeland. She has an eye for nature, for detail and a beautiful turn of phrase and I very much enjoyed seeing it all through her eyes.
It isn't all rosy, she honestly describes day to day life in its mundanity, as well as bringing people into the spotlight who are struggling (with great compassion and interest in their stories), along with her more well to do friends. Fascinating to see how often her observations and experiences became poems penned by her brother too.
I felt like I had spent the day in the Lake District, after reading this; the illustrations are varied and interesting too.

[Will Dunfey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read the journals while staying just a few miles from Dove Cottage and Mount Rydal - the Wordsworth homes for roughly 50 years. DW is a fascinating woman in her own right - astute observer of nature, a prodigious walker, an inspiration and editor and transcriber for her brother.

Drawings and paintings in the book complement the text in a beautiful way.

Finished this morning - Bloomsday!

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mildly interesting.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I greatly appreciate the way in which Dorothy views the world. Sometimes her descriptions and comments are fascinating and make the reader think things over. That said, reading through her journals for a class in under a week was a bit of a struggle, and this has to do not with her writing but with the nature of journals. Reading journals of any kind in such a condensed format is perhaps not the best way to do things. The best part, for me, of this edition would be the supplementary material in the back--specifically speaking of the additional journals and things as written by others that directly relate to Dorothy's journals and descriptions. I appreciated being able to see how others viewed the same world she saw and how others viewed her in correlation with what she wrote.

[Wouter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe I am spoiled with the Diaries of Virginia Woolf, but I found the journals repetitive and meagre. I liked some of the parts, especially when Dorothy met other people and the trip from Grasmere to Calais. The Journals are mostly about 'rain' and 'W. ill'. It was interesting to have some of Wordsworth's poems, but sometimes Dorothy was referring to poems that weren't presented. The images were a fine addition, but can't compensate for the lack of substance in the text.

[Andrew Fairey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful. A little insight into the lives of people in the Lake District at the turn of the 19th century - beggars coming to the door on a regular basis, extreme poverty and deprivation, walking almost everywhere, and often at night, meetings and discussions with friends and neighbours, deaths of the same or of their children, gardening tales, exquisite descriptions of the landscape, and ill health on a regular basis. Lots to ponder, lots of joy, and lots of sadness.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Will only be reading The Alfoxden Notebook, Journal of Days Spent at Hamburg, and The Grasmere Journals.

"Walked I know not where." (Wordsworth 14) - From The Alfoxden Notebook.

"Oh! that we had a book of botany" (Wordsworth 26) - From The Grasmere Journals.

"[A]nd here ends this imperfect summary" (Wordsworth 87) - From The Grasmere Journals.

[Romily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully illustrated edition of the journals.