Wordsworth: A Life

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The closest look at the everyday life of Wordsworth

Wordsworth: A Life
Juliet Barker
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: B000HWYSNQ

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William Wordsworth's early life reads like a novel. Orphaned at a young age and dependent on the charity of unsympathetic relatives, he became the archetypal teenage rebel. Refusing to enter the Church, he went instead to Revolutionary France, where he fathered an illegitimate daughter and became a committed Republican. His poetry was as revolutionary as his politics, challenging convention in form, style, and subject, and earning him the universal derision and contempt of critics. Only the unfailing encouragement of a tightly knit group of supporters, his family, and, above all, Coleridge kept him true to his poetic vocation. In the half-century that followed his reputation was transformed. His advocacy of the importance of imagination and feeling touched a chord in an increasingly industrial, mechanistic age, and his influence was profoundly and widely felt in every sphere of life. In the last decade of his life, Rydal Mount, his home for thirty-seven years, became a place of pilgrimage, not just for the great and powerful in Church and state, but also, more touchingly, for the hundreds of ordinary people who came to pay their respects to his genius. In what is, astonishingly, the first biography of Wordsworth to treat the latter part of his life as fully as the first, Juliet Barker balances meticulous research with a readable style, and scrupulous objectivity with an understanding of her subject. She reveals not only the public figure who was courted and reviled in equal measure but also the complex, elusive, private man behind that image. Drawing on unpublished sources, she vividly re-creates the intimacy of Wordsworth's domestic circle, showing the love, laughter, loyalty, and tragedies that bound them together. Far from being the remote, cold, solitary figure of legend, Wordsworth emerges from his biography as a passionate, vibrant man who lived for his family, his poetry, and his beloved Lakeland. His legacy, as a poet and as the spiritual founder of the conservation movement, remains with us today.

Customer Reviews:

The closest look at the everyday life of Wordsworth.......2005-12-13

Adam Kirsch writing in the 'New Yorker' reports that this biography does an outstanding job in covering the details of Wordsworth's everyday life. It contrasts with other biographies in giving equal focus to the long years after he had written his great works.
Kirsch finds the book's limitation is that it gives equal time and attention to a host of Wordsworth's activities while not focusing on his Poetry. For the Poetry is what makes Wordsworth important to us today, and not the long, and rather dull life story.
Wordsworth's radical youth, when it was bliss to be alive, and to be young was very heaven, his travels to France, his love- affair with Annette Vallon, the birth of his daughter all are in the background of the great decade of poetic work begun in the 1790's. Kirsch maintains that this great period of writing is one in which Wordsworth is still between worlds, torn by his disillusionment with the French Revolution. It is a time before he settles into being the Tory conservative, and eventually respected and admired poet laureate of England.
The greatness of Wordsworth which Kirsch sees in great part as connected with a kind of democratic religious vision in which he sees into , sympathizes with and portrays the kind of ordinary and not - so- ordinary souls outside the realm of previous English poetry comes to a climax in this period of uncertainty.
Wordsworth's special connection with Nature, the whole sublime and yet deeply passionate and calm tone of his greatest poetry provide a kind of consoling religious vision for many of his great and devoted readers. These include Emerson, and most especially John Stuart Mill .Mill's account in his 'Autobiography' of being saved from his terrible depression and loss of the sense of meaning of his own life, through his reading of Wordsworth is one telling example of how powerful the effect of Wordsworth's poetry.
This biography according to Kirsch gives detailed insight into all of Wordsworth's closest relations, including what is one of the most remarkable and productive literary friendships of all time, Wordsworth's close connection with Coleridge.
For all students of Wordsworth, for all those who would know his life in the most detailed way possible this work is indispensable.

Biographia Literaria: Biographical Sketches of my Literary Life & Opinions

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Awesome erudition
From a "universal mind"

Biographia Literaria: Biographical Sketches of my Literary Life & Opinions
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Manufacturer: Princeton University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0691018618

Book Description

Biographia Literaria has emerged over the last century as a supreme work of literary criticism and one of the classics of English literature. Into this volume poured 20 years of speculation about the criticism and uses of poetry and about the psychology of art. Following the text of the 1817 edition, the editors offer the first completely annotated edition of the highly allusive work.

Customer Reviews:

Awesome erudition.......2003-01-12

I am almost as much in awe of the erudition of the editors (James Engell and W Jackson Bates of the Bolingen edition) as that of Coleridge himself. I think it is often easier to parade one's own wide reading than to recognize someone elses's references. These editors track down the most obscure of Greek, German and Latin quotations and it's an education to read their notes.
There are really three themes in the book. One part is philosophy, one is literary criticism, and one is straight autobiography. These are dispersed throughout.
As regards the philosophy I am probably what he would have called "ignorant of his understanding." Coleridge shows a remarkable knowledge of German philosophy, read in the original language. As far as I know his philosophical ideas have not been highly regarded by pure philosophers.
The literary criticism is the most powerful and original part although the texts he uses will be unfamiliar and even anaccessible to most modern readers.
The fragments of autobiography such as chapter 10 and the first of the Satyrayane's Letters are the most readable.
While this is an unboubted work of genius I have denied it the fifth star because of a certain lack of redability. It is not, for the modern reader, a page-turning work of entertainment. It contains many gems, and much wit, but is one of those we take up today for instruction rather than diversion.

From a "universal mind".......2002-07-01

Bede Griffiths, in his book The Golden String, referred to STC as "one of the most universal minds in English literature."

I don't know of anything comparable to Biographia Literaria. At times it's the narrative of a great poet's life. He may veer off into literary criticism or even parody (see the, to me, hilarious section in which he gives "The House that Jack Built" in the rhetorical manner of a recent poet). He powerfully attacks the positivism of his age (and ours). He evokes the wonder of being human.

This scholarly edition is the one to get, if you're going to put in the time to read this rich classic at all.

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MY SECRET LIFE. Vol I-XI

Life in the 1800s, from a sexual perspective

An interesting time capsule

Memorable naughtiness

A classic picture of the Victorian era

My Secret Life-Volume I (Wordsworth Classic Erotica)
Walter
Manufacturer: Wordsworth Edition
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
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My Secret Life

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ASIN: 1853266027

Customer Reviews:

MY SECRET LIFE. Vol I-XI.......2002-04-23

This title is considered a classic of its kind. Erotica.It is also considered unique, and among the longest autobiographies writen. ....It has the most sexual experiences ever described. Writen in the mid nineteenth century it traces the sexual exploits and experiences of "Walter..." from the age of 16 to old age. Considering this was much of the Victorian Age it is amazing it was published and it has been published, in many editions. The authorship has been in question and I'm not aware if the author has ever been identified. Whatever else can be said it is an incredibly erotic book to read. Get a copy and read it aloud with your lover.

Life in the 1800s, from a sexual perspective.......2000-11-17

This was a fantastic book. Not for the sexual explicity but because it was a snapshot of a man's thoughts from the Victorean era of England. Though sexuality is the book's focus, I found far more insight to a person of a different era. Walter focuses so much time on sex, he doesn't realize he is giving us a picture of himself, his emotions, and the values of the period. The problems we face in today's world were all faced by those before us, this book is a pure illustration of that. If I didn't know this book was written in the nineteenth century I would have never guessed it other than the out-dated slang. This is an honest accounting of a person's thoughts from a different time.

An interesting time capsule.......2000-08-30

No matter how you look at it, this is an interesting book.

If you are interested in erotica, this book is absolutely crammed with sexual encounters (they have an average length of about two pages each and there's very little space devoted to anything else). There are servant girls, socialites, widows, prostitutes, the occasional man or boy, orgies, etc. etc. It's written in quite an episodic style and the various sex bits would have worked well even as indepentdent stories.

My Secret Life is a pretty good bit of erotica, although if you are interested in porn per se, I'm sure that you can find better books elsewhere. For one thing, the language of sex has changed with the years and terms such as "minetting", "gamahuching" and "spending" take some getting used to.

On the other hand, if you're interested in the Victorian world, this book is a goldmine of interesting insights, although one should point out that these insights are presented to us in spite of the author, rather than thanks to him.

The grinding poverty and social inequality of Victorian society is brought out in vivid (and somewhat disgusting) detail. It was a world where women and men would do anything for money or, if in service, to avoid being fired. It was a cruel, hypocritical world and I for one am glad that it's gone.

At times the author launches into sidebars of what these days would probably be called "sex education".

This is one of the book's paradoxes. My Secret Life was originally printed by one of the "vanity presses" in continental Europe (Holland, I think). A great deal of trouble was taken to maintain the authors anonimity and yet, he often writes as if he were expecting to be read by a vast and varied audience. Although the author can get quite pompous at those times, it is fascinating to see how much the more worldly Victorians actually knew about sex, contraception etc.

All in all, My Secret Life is a pretty good book. The erotic side of it has dated a little (and would have trouble competing with modern porn), but as a sort of sexual time capsule it's pretty hard to beat.

Memorable naughtiness.......1998-07-23

Some first rate sex scenes in this, which is all the scenes that are in the whole thing. My girl friend Rosey Palm and I spent many hours reading this book when I was 15. Highly recommended to those who like a bit of overtly bawdy literature in their lives. (You might even learn a few things from this book, as I did). And it's all true!

A classic picture of the Victorian era.......1998-07-08

Walter, thought to be a nobleman or at least a wealthy businessman has an insatiable appetite for women. He has his way with any and all - he pays for his pleasure and he jusy takes it as he pleases! An excellent picture of Victoria's London and his varied names for the male and female sexual anatomy will no doubt cause some raised eyebrows - but they are true to life. Excellent.

Natural History of Selbourne (Wordsworth Classics)

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watching nature carefully with great amusement

Natural History of Selbourne (Wordsworth Classics)
Gilbert White
Manufacturer: Wordsworth Editions Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Classics | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1853261815

Book Description

The Natural History of Selborne (1789) is the distillation of a lifetime of observing nature, and ranges far beyond White's immediate neighborhood noted in the title. Written during a turbulent time in world history, it is a celebration of the endeavors of both human beings and animals to
survive. White's main aims were to induce readers to pay more attention to the wonders around them, and to advance their knowledge of the variety of life: his success has made this book a classic, and has made his name one of the most revered among British naturalists.

Customer Reviews:

watching nature carefully with great amusement.......2000-07-06

Gilbert White lived the quietest life, but he succeeded in gaining the attention of all the prominent naturalists of the 18th century. His only book was the result of years of observations of his gardens and surrounding countryside of southern England. Written in the form of letters to interested fellow naturalists, White comments on birds, geology, insects, and even a visit to a North American moose that has been imported by a neighbor. As a writer, Gilbert White is astute in combining his observations with a charming delight in everything he sees that makes the reader want to follow him wherever he goes.

William Wordsworth: A Life (Oxford Lives)

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William Wordsworth: A Life (Oxford Lives)
Stephen Gill
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Authors | Arts & Literature | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0192827472

Book Description

Based on intimate knowledge of the poet's manuscripts, on a fresh look at contemporary records, and on a study of the mass of material that has appeared since the last serious biography, a quarter-century ago, this new account of Wordsworth focuses on what was most important to him - his life as a writer. The common notion is that the older Wordsworth betrayed his youthful, radical self to become a prosy Tory bore. By contrast, this intelligent and authoritative biography demonstrates that once the poet had returned to the Lake District, determined to live dedicated to poetry at whatever cost, his life took on a unity and purpose it had previously lacked. His politics certainly changed, and his poetic power waned, but from 1799 almost until his death in 1850, Wordsworth single-mindedly shaped his own life in submission to an imaginative possession whose importance he never doubted. It was, in its way, a heroic life. Wordsworth suffered numbing blows from the death of friends and family, including three of his own children. Critics reviled his poetry for over twenty years, and he never made enough money by his pen to live on - unlike his dear friend Scott. Yet his dedication to his art did not waver. In middle age he knew that contemporaries valued him as a moral sage; in old age he suffered the embarrassment of being a cultural icon. The lucid narrative that Stephen Gill draws out is the story of that hard-won triumph: its purpose is to bring readers back freshly to poetry that is full of human understanding and experience, and a tested, sober faith in 'Man's unconquerable mind'.

Ups and Downs of Life (Wordsworth Classic Erotica)

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Babble babble babble .....

Ups and Downs of Life (Wordsworth Classic Erotica)
Edward Sellon
Manufacturer: Wordsworth Editions
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Erotica | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1853266299

Customer Reviews:

Babble babble babble ............2007-06-08

The cover says that this book is a 'frank sexual autobiography of great rarity'.

To say it's frank is ludicrous cause the author rambles on and on like an old drunken uncle after a Thanksgiving dinner. To say its a sexual autobiography is also stretching it since the author spends more time getting to and from the escapades that the reader must FILL IN a lot of the gaps....

Its a dog ... and thats strange for a Wordsworth Book which are usually good ..

Military Experience in the Age of Reason (Wordsworth Military Library)

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Excellent
Linear Warfare

Military Experience in the Age of Reason (Wordsworth Military Library)
Christopher Duffy
Manufacturer: Combined Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Military | History | Subjects | Books

Life & Institutions | Military | History | Subjects | Books

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

Military Science | History | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 1853266906

Customer Reviews:

Excellent.......2001-01-04

I've just recently discovered Duffy's works and I like them. Though he writes about a variety of military history topics his primary focus is the 16th - 18th centuries and the type of warfare they fought. It's always been an area that has interested me, but I never found much quality and in-depth material.Christopher Duffy has corrected that problem. This book takes every aspect of the military experience from 1715 - 1789 and looks at it in great depth. The officer, the common soldier, the general, campaigns, battles etc. It's very readable and beautifully researched. Each before mentioned topic has it's own chapter as do many others in the book and they all recieve equal attention. It works as both a survey book for the general reader and a in-depth study for the more knowledgable scholar. I reccommend it strongly. If one is wondering about any quibbles I may have, and there always are quibbles, it would be that the book could have used some illustrations, but that's a minor quibble indeed. If your interested in this subject or just military history in general you could do far worse than buying this book.

Linear Warfare.......2000-09-15

Christopher Duffy is a definite authority for this period of history and this volume is a must for all students of the period. Additionally, students of the Napoleonic period should read this book as it gives the background, both practical and thoeretical, that led to the Revolution in tactics and strategy that was Napoleonic warfare.

Crisply written, thoroughly researched, this book is a great read, packed full of excellent material, and is an asset to every library. My only complaint is that I would have liked more material on the American Revolution.

The age of 'limited warfare' as it is sometimes called is generally misunderstood. Its battles, however, were savage, bloody affairs and the author brings this point out, as well as painting an excellent picture of the age of which he writes. It is a benefit to all students of military history that Duffy's books are being reprinted and that he is still writing and producing excellent history.

Amazon.com

Johanna Spyri's classic story of a young orphan sent to live with her grumpy grandfather in the Swiss Alps is retold in it's entirety in this beautifully bound hardcover edition. Heidi has charmed and intrigued readers since it's original publication in 1880. Much more than a children's story, the narrative is also a lesson on the precarious nature of freedom, a luxury too often taken for granted. Heidi almost loses her liberty as she is ripped away from the tranquility of the mountains to tend to a sick cousin in the city. Happily, all's well that ends well, and the reader is left with only warm, fuzzy thoughts. Spryi's story will never grow wearisome--and this is a very appealing edition. --Naomi Gesinger

Product Description

Heidi is the heart-warming tale of a small girl's power for good, and it has remained a firm favourite since it was published over 100 years ago. It tells of the orphan Heidi and her idyllic existence with her gruff grandfather in the mountains. When she is sent to live in a city, comic chaos ensues, and eventually it is arranged that Heidi should return to the mountains. Together she and her friend Peter, the goat-herd, achieve wondrous changes in the community in which they live.

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Johanna Spyri's classic tale of a young girl sent to live with her grumpy grandfather in the Swiss Alps

Customer Reviews:

Charming, Exceptionally Written, and Surprisingly Sophisticated.......2007-10-06

Modern adaptations tend to reduce HEIDI to the distastefully saccharine--and as such do a tremendous disservice to Swiss author Johanna Spyri, whose original 1880 novel is a surprisingly sophisticated work founded on a solid plot line and including exceptionally well-rounded characters and memorably rendered descriptions of both the Alpine peasantry and the German aristocracy.

When hardnosed Aunt Dete has the opportunity to secure better employment, she wastes little time in unloading five year old and orphaned Heidi on the child's grandfather, a Swiss peasant whose personal tragedies have led him to a life of isolation in the Alps. Heidi quickly penetrates her grandfather's superficial gruffness; he quickly grows to love the child and she in turn becomes a local favorite. Several years later, however, Dete is motivated by guilt to have second thoughts about the child's welfare, and snatches Heidi from the Alps to become the companion of the wealthy but invalid child Klara, who resides in Frankfurt.

Transported to this alien city so abruptly, Heidi pines for both the Alps and her grandfather even as she comes to love Klara. She also upsets the rigidly ordered household, personified by housekeeper by the unpleasant but comical Miss Rottenmeier. When Klara's sensible grandmother suggests Heidi take her problems to God, the child does precisely that, and after several disappointments discovers that her situation is part of a larger plan that will lead to a greater happiness for all concerned.

HEIDI was written at a time when children were expected to be able to read far beyond the scope of that which we expect of modern children. As a result, it is a children's novel written that is indeed a novel in every sense of the word, including length. It is indeed "wholesome," but in the best sense of the word, and although it is not in the least preachy it works through its story to encourage honesty, intergity, kindness, and an uncomplicated religious faith.

Unfortunately, our own age leans toward such children's literature as the poorly written Goosebumps series and sets up "Bratz" doll imagery as appropriate role models. In light of such, it is a bit difficult to imagine children reading HEIDI by their own choice. Nonetheless, it remains a truly charming work--the sort of reading that parents should encourage but sadly seldom do.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

Beautiful Book.......2007-09-15

I received the book fast and in beautiful condition. This book was a gift and could not be made any wonderful. Thank you.

This is the best book ever written.......2007-07-04

This is the most precious story ever written, and the translation is wonderful. I read it several times a year, even though I'm almost 35 years old.

Although Johanna Spyri wrote many stories for children, none of them can even come close to Heidi.

Hema Chennu Martin middle.......2007-03-04

I think that heidi is a great book for kids to read. I say that because it has amazing settings like the mountains and, Frankfurt.There are also interesting characters like Heidi her self, Peter the goat boy, and a girl Heidi meets in Frankfurt. The story is mainly about a girl name Heidi who'es parents died when she was young. From then on Heidi lives with Detie who is her mothers sister. Detie took care of heidi till she was about five. Then she found a great job and had to leave Heidi with her grandfather. Heidies grandfather was a grumpy old man who lived in the mountains with his goats. When he found out that he had to take care of Heidi he got very mad. After a few days of living with heidi he got a lot kinder.when Heidi was living with her grandfather she maid a new friend named Peter. Then th story goes on about how she had so much fun there. Suddenly one day Detie came bake for Heidi. She took her to Frankfurt where Heidi had to live with a rich girl. Even though the girl was rich she could not walk. Heidi was not happy living with the rich girl. Even though she got what ever she wanted. One day the rich girls father came home and noticed that Heidi was sad and sent her back to her grandfather. There was a lot more in the middle of the story but I am not going to get into that much detail. When she returnes to her grandfather she was happy. That is what mostly took place in the story. The main thing in all of this is that the story is GREAT. I think that all kids should read this book.

Such a good book!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.......2006-04-01

This book is very good!When I first heard of it I thought it would be weird,but I was wrong.This book is very delightful and uplifting.It is one of the best books!

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Wordsworth: An Inner Life
Duncan Wu
Manufacturer: Blackwell Publishing Limited
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Authors | Arts & Literature | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Criticism | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Children's Literature Guides | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1405113693

Book Description

From his work editing Wordsworth's Juvenile Poetry (1785-1790), Duncan Wu came to understand that much of the content of the poet's later great work drew on early childhood experiences, particularly delayed mourning arising from his parents' deaths. This original study is the first fully to investigate the impact of this formative experience on Wordsworth's poetry and to integrate it into a critical account of how his art developed from 1787 to 1813. In doing so it seeks to explain the importance of Wordsworth's great epic, The Recluse, to his work as a whole, and looks at how some of it got written and why it was left unfinished at his death.The book includes 20 illustrations from original notebooks retained by the Wordsworth Trust in Grasmere, and, among its numerous discoveries, presents the first annotated reading text of The White Doe of Rylstone (1808) with its important 'Advertizement'. Written in an accessible manner, this revealing study will be of great interest to students and researchers of Wordsworth's poetry.

The Concise Gray's Anatomy (Wordsworth Reference) (Wordsworth Collection)

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The Concise Gray's Anatomy (Wordsworth Reference) (Wordsworth Collection)
C. Henri Leonard , and Henry Gray
Manufacturer: Wordsworth Editions Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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