HOME AT GRASMERE

by Dorothy & William Wordsworth

A continuous text made up of extracts from Dorothy Wordsworth's Journal and a selection of her brother's poems. Dorothy Wordsworth kept her Journal 'because I shall give William pleasure by it'. In doing so, she never dreamt that she was giving future readers not only the chance to enjoy her fresh and sensitive delight in the beauties that surrounded her at Grasmere but also a rare opportunity to observe 'the progress of a poet's mind'. Colette Clark's skilful and perceptive arrangement of Dorothy's entries alongside William's poems throws a unique light on his creative process, and shows how the interdependence of brother and sister was a vital part in the writing of many of his great poems. By reading these poems in relation to the Journal it is possible to trace the processes by which they were committed to paper and so achieve a fuller understanding of them. A writer in her own right, Dorothy kept her Journal sparse in personal and emotional detail. Yet there is, nevertheless, a deep emotional undercurrent running beneath the surface which only falters when William marries Mary Hutchinson. Never again was Dorothy to achieve the freedom, spontaneity and the limpidly beautiful prose with which she infused and irradiated the Grasmere Journals.

Genres: Poetry, Nonfiction, Classics, Memoir, Literature, Biography, 19th Century

Paperback

First published January 1, 1960

Reviews

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. The mundane incident, the funny anecdote, the social historian, hiker, gardener, letter writer, baker, reader, all combined into one glowing whole, with beautiful descriptions of nature and the Lske District. Soothing and inspiring,

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a good team William and Dorothy were! These journals are very much like life: many ordinary moments with gleams of transcendent beauty. The editor did a lovely job of weaving William's poems through Dorothy's journals, especially when there was a direct reference in a journal entry to a specific poem. Also, not surprising for a romantic poet, but I do love how much time Dorothy and William spent outside. Though the weather could get them down at times (they both seemed to be often sick or low in spirits), it more often spurred them outdoors, even if it was cold or frosty or snowy or hot. I had the privilege of being in Grasmere myself in October 2008 and it was one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. I'm so thankful these journals capture life in Grasmere so many years ago.

[Tree Riesener]

Dorothy's deep passion for nature and her brother. Her inexhaustible energy. A ten-mile walk after baking bread and pies (every other day), all the while with a headache. I was struck by how often she, William and Coleridge were ill--almost every day. Frequent headaches and collywobbles. I wonder if the food or water tended to be tainted. Interesting. They didn't let illness stop them, however.

[Elsary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dorothy Wordsworth was a writer to be celebrated herself, even though she’s often only remembered in relation to his brother. And it is true she wrote for him: she says it herself, and after William marries, she loses the desire to keep up with her journal. There’s something beautiful in their love which they express so plainly and clearly to each other.

This is a sweet book, a wonderful collection of the mundane and everyday and all the beauty in it. Extracts from Dorothy’s journal mixed with William’s poems gives both more depth, and the notes by the editor Colette Clark are helpful for a reader who doesn’t know them that well (like myself). I adore especially Dorothy’s nature descriptions, so vivid – having visited Grasmere myself and seen it only cloaked the mist of grey November, her words made me vision it in midsummer and winter, under snow and sunshine, sunrise and midnight.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the insight I got into several of William's poems by seeing Dorothy's journal entries. I especially loved her chronicling their travels through places I'm familiar with.

[Kelly-Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

The beauty of the ordinary. Lots of walks, visits from neighbours, pie in the pub, naps, and poetry. Free on Audible and just lovely.

[Yan · Rating 4 out of 5]

loved it. also hope i never have to read the phrase 'coleridge has had another attack in his bowels' ever again. how many times did that come up. also out of nowhere:
"Coleridge came in with a sack full of books, etc., and a branch of mountain ash. He had been attacked by a cow." what a bloke.
altho obviously i like this for dorothy first and foremost!

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dorothy is clearly as gifted a writer, if not arguably more so in a way, than her famous brother. Her diaries are a fascinating insight into life in the early years of the 1800's, especially how much they were physicslly unwell. It was also really fun reading about places in the Lake District that I recognised or had been to. Clearly this part of the world has always enchanted people.

On of my favourite descriptions of hers is as follows:

''The moon shone like herrings in the water.' (p.85)


I think the strangest thing for me has been figuring out the nature of William and Dorothy's relationship... at times it feels a lot more like I was reading about a married couple, rather than siblings, and at others as though Dorothy was just given to writing in a romantic fashion about everything. However, it often sounds as though Dorothy is IN love with her brother which is a biiittt icky. It's particularly noticeable in an entry towards the end, during October 1802; the way that Dorothy describes her clear distress at William's marriage to Mary... *supish*

I include the below as the clearest example:

'On Monday 4th October 1802, my brother William was married to Mary Hutchinson... At a little after 8 o'clock I saw them go down the avenue towards the church. William had parted from me upstairs... I kept myself as quiet as I could, but when I saw the two men running up the walk, coming to tell us it was over, I could stand it no longer, and then myself on the bed, where I lay in stillness, neither hearing or seeing anything till Sara came upstairs to me, and said, 'They are coming.' This forced me from my bed where I lay, and I moved, I knew not how, straight forward, faster than my strength could carry me, till I met my beloved William, and fell upon his bosom.' (p.284)

[Acanthus Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

"After dinner, Coleridge discovered a rock-seat in the orchard. Cleared away the brambles."

"Low and rustic life was generally chosen, because, in that situation, the essential passions of the heart find a better soil in which they can attain their maturity..."

~

A journal kept by Wordsworth's sister of their life at Grasmere in the Lake District; we are granted a privileged glimpse into the process of poetic composition, as well as an understanding of the specific circumstances which gave birth to some of William's more famous verse.

But locality is everything here. The journal delights in everyday goings on and gives pauses and reflections which are often, in and of themselves, poetic. Dorothy and William often shared ideas and expressions between themselves and it's interesting to pick out exactly where her fingerprints can be descried in her brother's work.

"The small birds are singing, lambs bleating, cuckow calling, the thrush sings by fits. Thomas Ashburner's axe is going quietly (without passion) in the orchard, hens are cackling, flies humming, the women talking together at their doors, plumb and pear trees are in blossom - apple trees greenish - the opposite woods green, the crows are cawing. We have heard ravens."

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quiet and moving record of the time spent by Dorothy Wordsworth and her brother William in Grasmere in Cumbria (Lake District in northern England). The cold, isolation... long walks across the hills only to find that no letters were waiting from them ... visits from Coleridge and William’s future wife Mary. Dorothy busy studying German or copying her brother’s poems.

There is an excellent recording of this on Audible. This also contains readings of the most famous poems William wrote at the time.

[Simon · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the great privileges of my reading life this week to have been reading this memoir alongside Virginia Woolf’s writing diary. Almost entirely happenstance and coincidental....but happy, happy chance. What magnificent women. What magnificent writers. What a magnificent week!

And a very impressed nod to the editing nous and skills of Colette Clark who brings together the journals with William Wordsworth’s verse in a way that convinces (this reader anyway) that she was as much collaborator as companion.

[Lydia Hughes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read for my university course. What more can I say about this formidable literary duo. Theirs is an inspiring, yet intimate dialogue to overhear. I adore the symbiosis of the siblings’ individual creative processes, the prose of Dorothy speaking to her brother’s poetry and vice versa, one artist’s growth perpetuating that of the other. Truly remarkable (and a lovely insight into the Lakes, a place with which I myself am very familiar).

[Drew · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intriguing read, recommended to me by a cool staffer at The Book Barn in Niantic, CT. It’s amazing how much Dorothy Wordsworth influenced her brother and how many of his poems pulled almost directly from her journal entries. A great journal, worth the time to flip through it.

[Lawrence Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is reasonably interesting as background information regarding daily life for William, Dorothy, and their friends. Dorothy is a good observer and prose writer, but the current fashion in emphasizing her importance seems to be excessive.

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful way to get acquainted with Dorothy Wordsworth and her famous poet brother. She added a great deal to his life and work.

[Benevbooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

For uni

[Julie · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF

[Mike Steven · Rating 2 out of 5]

I started reading this book during a holiday in the Lake District on a day when we visited Grasmere. I had part studied it about 15 years ago for A level and found reading the prose of Dorothy's diary alongside William's poetry absolutely fascinating and something I'd always promised myself that I'd return to some day.



I'd some idea of the lifestyle of the Wordsworths during this period of their lives and have always been interested, and in no small part envious, of their day to day activities. I was deeply interested to find out more.



At times this diary rewarded my interest and also provided beautiful and sparkling prose that clearly illustrated Dorothy's love of nature, her garden and the landscapes that surrounded her. Her description of the daffodils near Windermere match her brother's poem for vibrancy and imagery that allows the reader to truly picture the moment.



Sadly, however, Dorothy's diary does not solely consist of such wonderful prose and, while reading about their day to day activities is genuinely fascinating for a while, three years of fetching letters, walking to the top of the hill, feeling ill and being scared by cows gets more than a little repetitive and boring.



I never abandon books I started - but this was a very close call. I changed from being a regular reader to reluctantly pressing through a few pages a day . . . or not reading at all.



Here's an example why:



"July 4th, Sunday. Cold and rain and very dark. I was sick and ill, had been made sleepless by letters. I lay in bed till 4 o'clock. When I rose, I was very far from well, but I grew better after tea. William walked a little, I did not. We sate by the window together. It came on a terribly wet night. Wm finished The Leech Gatherer today."



There's essentially two hundred and seventy pages of this - occasionally excitement is added when she is scared by a cow - a few brief moments of description and some of William's poems that are much more readily accessible in a poetry anthology.



Essentially, she is obsessed with the health of her brother, receiving daily letters from Coleridge and then worrying about the tone of them and her garden. We hear about her bowels, William's bowels, and lots and lots about the weather. They all seem to fall ill over virtually nothing, walk around a lot and get very worried about cows. Dorothy's relationship with William is creepy and wrong - she sleeps in his bed when he is away to feel close to him and smell him - and the whole thing just becomes too damn repetitive.



Despite all of this, I still award it two and a half stars because it is an interesting subject, a valuable insight into the life of one of the world's greatest ever poets and it was never meant to be released for general sale.

[Buzz Mauro · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've never read much Wordsworth, and I recently bought a beautiful illustrated edition of The Prelude, resolving to finally read it. Before I started it, I came across this little paperback in a used bookstore and bought it for $2. It turned out to be the best introduction to Wordsworth that I could have found. It's the beautiful writing of his sister Dorothy's journals, with several of Wordsworth's poems included on the days he wrote them, often after they had been out walking together and saw something that inspired them both to write. A great introduction to both great writers.

[Bethany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Frankly, I'm not in love with Wordsworth. I loved Dorothy Wordsworth's entries, but I'm not so much into poetry that I automatically go into conniptions at the mere thought of William Wordsworth's poetry. However, this was a decent book.

[Pondering Pig Newton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poetry, the Lake District, a brother and sister who love each other, walking, daffodils, romantics - what's not to like about Dorothy's journals?

[Rose · Rating 1 out of 5]

Beautiful but annoying. Too long.

[Mills College Library]

828.709 H7651 1978