Wordsworth. A Life

In Wordsworth: A Life, Juliet Barker - author of the acclaimed The Brontës - strips away the myth and rumour that have obscured the great romantic poet since his death to reveal the true story of the passionate, vibrant man who lived for his family, his poetry and his beloved Lakeland. We learn of the trials faced by Wordsworth: that he was orphaned as a boy; that he travelled in Revolutionary France, became a Republican and fathered an illegitimate daughter there; that his poetry was once thought as radical as his politics and left him - like Coleridge - imaginatively and intellectually isolated for many years. Here, too, is the family who meant so much to Wordsworth - his wife, his children and his sister Dorothy - and also the many influential -friends who made the pilgrimage to his famous home in Rydal Mount. And, of course, here is the poetry - that has inspired generations.