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Product Description
'I went & sat 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.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I have just holidayed in the Lake District, and of course I had to visit Dove Cottage, at Grasmere, where I got this book. If you are ever in the area I would strongly advise anyone to make a detour to the place as there is a museum and a guided tour of the cottage.
These journals kept by Dorothy Wordsworth were for private use only and were never meant for publication, so consequently initials are used for people's names in places, as well as there being less punctuation than if it had been meant for a mass audience.
The Grasmere Journals
Dorothy kept these for about three years. She didn't necessarily write in them everyday, and so there are gaps and at times she just writes one entry to cover a period of time. In all the Wordsworth's did spend nine years here and Wordsworth claimed that Dorothy was his eyes and ears. Now known as the 'Golden Decade' this was the period when Wordsworth wrote nearly all his best poetry. These journals have been useful in dating some of Wordsworth's poetry, and seeing his inspiration, but they also provide the minutiae of everyday life, when people were ill, the friends they had in the area, and the characters that they came across, as well as a visit they made to France.
The Alfoxden Journal
This is much shorter that the above, and was written beforehand when the Wordsworth's were staying near Coleridge in Somerset. As above they show the way they lived, and also provide descriptions of the area.
All in all this is a fascinating read that even if you don't really like poetry you will probably enjoy. Dorothy's writing is in places very descriptive and she really brings the people and the areas that she writes about to life. In some cases you feel that you are round your gran's, drinking tea and eating cake as she tells you what she has been up to lately. There is also over a hundred pages of notes which should explain anything that you are unsure of, as well as an introduction, both written by Pamela Woof.
These journals kept by Dorothy Wordsworth were for private use only and were never meant for publication, so consequently initials are used for people's names in places, as well as there being less punctuation than if it had been meant for a mass audience.
The Grasmere Journals
Dorothy kept these for about three years. She didn't necessarily write in them everyday, and so there are gaps and at times she just writes one entry to cover a period of time. In all the Wordsworth's did spend nine years here and Wordsworth claimed that Dorothy was his eyes and ears. Now known as the 'Golden Decade' this was the period when Wordsworth wrote nearly all his best poetry. These journals have been useful in dating some of Wordsworth's poetry, and seeing his inspiration, but they also provide the minutiae of everyday life, when people were ill, the friends they had in the area, and the characters that they came across, as well as a visit they made to France.
The Alfoxden Journal
This is much shorter that the above, and was written beforehand when the Wordsworth's were staying near Coleridge in Somerset. As above they show the way they lived, and also provide descriptions of the area.
All in all this is a fascinating read that even if you don't really like poetry you will probably enjoy. Dorothy's writing is in places very descriptive and she really brings the people and the areas that she writes about to life. In some cases you feel that you are round your gran's, drinking tea and eating cake as she tells you what she has been up to lately. There is also over a hundred pages of notes which should explain anything that you are unsure of, as well as an introduction, both written by Pamela Woof.
4 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Thank you for superb book. Great service and book is immaculate. I am enjoying reading it very much.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
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2 reviews
26 of 26 people found the following review helpful
A Passion for the Particular*
7 Nov 2003
Format:Paperback
Dorothy Wordsworth's journals are an exquisite and delicate record of everyday life with the Wordsworths (Dorothy, William, Mary, his wife, and their close network of friends like Coleridge and Sara Hutchinson). Most interesting are her depictions of the landscapes and her descriptions of the marginalised peoples. Her journals note down destitute figures, a begger woman and her sons, a woman who drowned herself, two beggers, the plodding mail man etc.
Dorothy opens the window to a domesticated William Wordsworth, the Poet, at work in the acts of creation. Sunday Morning [14th of March 1802] reads, "...while we were at Breakfast that is (for I had breakfasted) he, with his Basin of Broth before him untouched and a little plate of Bread and butter he wrote the Poem to a Butterfly! He ate not a morsel, nor put on his stockings but sate with his shirt neck unbuttoned, and his waistcoat open while he did it."
Many literary critics have chosen to see Dorothy Wordsworth as a shadow of her brother, these readers say that Dorothy does not pocess a coherent self and they fault the patriarchal powers for her lack of an active self. I see Dorothy Wordsworth as a delicate, compassionate and kind person with "A Passion for the Particular."* She is, I feel, well aware of her self as a self, and also well aware of other selves as themselves. Her journal is littered with what she does achieves in her daily life.
This journal is a fantastic bedtime read. Her unique and careful narrative style, her emphasis and focus on truthful detail, all these make reading the journal a real pleasure. I only wish I discovered her earlier.
* This phrase is taken from the title of Elizabeth Gunn's book on Dorothy Wordsworth.
1 of 32 people found the following review helpful
Wordsworthless
9 July 2009
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I love Wordsworth. Discovering his poems at a very early age was one of those rare watershed moments for me, to which anyone possessed of a deep love of reading can relate. It was one of those rare epiphanies when you realise that someone feels the same way that you do and, more to the point, has been able -seemingly effortlessly - to put these deepest feelings that you have never been able to articulate, have well-nigh despaired of articulating, into beautiful language. Discovering Wordsworth came to nothing less than discovering that I was not alone in the world, that I never need be so again as long as I had books.
But this book is not about Wordsworth, as I had hoped, after realising that he was the one figure in my literary pantheon about whom I'd never read a full biography; neither is it about his poetry. It is rather a boring set of journal entries by his sister, Dorothy. Well, that's half the book. The other half consists of Ms. Woof's tedious notes upon these tedious entries, making such things as the location of the Wordsworth privy in relation to Dove Cottage (The Wordsworth House) eminently clear to the reader. Now, should I ever visit the Lake District again via the "Lake District Roundabout" - things have changed a bit in 200 years, I shall know exactly where Wordsworth and sister micturated and defecated - but precious little else.
For pedants only, I should think, for those who can say with a sneer rather than with a sigh:
"Where is it now, the glory and the dream?"
But this book is not about Wordsworth, as I had hoped, after realising that he was the one figure in my literary pantheon about whom I'd never read a full biography; neither is it about his poetry. It is rather a boring set of journal entries by his sister, Dorothy. Well, that's half the book. The other half consists of Ms. Woof's tedious notes upon these tedious entries, making such things as the location of the Wordsworth privy in relation to Dove Cottage (The Wordsworth House) eminently clear to the reader. Now, should I ever visit the Lake District again via the "Lake District Roundabout" - things have changed a bit in 200 years, I shall know exactly where Wordsworth and sister micturated and defecated - but precious little else.
For pedants only, I should think, for those who can say with a sneer rather than with a sigh:
"Where is it now, the glory and the dream?"
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