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Dorothy Wordsworth
Dorothy Mae Ann Wordsworth (25 December 1771 – 25 January 1855) was an English author, poet, and diarist. She was the sister of the Romantic poet William Wordsworth, and the two were close all their adult lives. Dorothy Wordsworth had no ambitions to be a public author, yet she left behind numerous letters, diary entries, topographical descriptions, poems, and other writings.
Dorothy Mae Ann Wordsworth was born in Cockermouth, Cumberland on 25 December 1771. She was the sister of English Romantic poet William Wordsworth and the third of five children born to Ann Cookson and John Wordsworth. Following the death of her mother in 1778, Dorothy was sent alone to live with her second cousin, Elizabeth Threlkeld, in Halifax, West Yorkshire until 1787. During this period, Dorothy attended boarding school at Hipperholme before transferring to a day-school in Halifax.
In 1787, Dorothy moved to her grandparents' house in Penrith, re-establishing contact with her siblings after a nine-year separation. She moved to Forncett parish in Norfolk in 1788 with her recently wedded uncle and his wife, where she remained for six years. Dorothy dedicated her time to domestic duties and corresponded regularly to her brother William and her childhood friend, Jane Pollard. In a letter to Jane, Dorothy mentioned starting a small school consisting of nine local girls. William spent six weeks in Forncett at the end of 1790, during which time the Wordsworth siblings began their enduring practice of undertaking long walks together. Dorothy and William maintained a close bond throughout their lives.
In 1794, Dorothy was reunited with William after a three-year separation. The siblings resided at Old Windebrowe cottage for a period of two months. They later relocated to Racedown Lodge in Dorset, where they remained until 1797. During their time at Racedown, they began fostering a three-year-old boy named Basil Montagu. It was during this period that Dorothy was introduced to the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, whom William had briefly encountered two years prior, and from here the trio developed a close friendship. Coleridge wrote of Dorothy's character in a letter to his publisher: "Her information various—her eye watchful in minutest observation of nature".
In July 1797, despite facing financial constraints, Dorothy and William Wordsworth relocated to Alfoxton House in Somerset, a short distance from their new acquaintance Coleridge's residence. Together, Wordsworth and Coleridge, with insights from Dorothy, collaborated on "Lyrical Ballads" (1798). Among the collection is Wordsworth's famous poem "Tintern Abbey," inspired by their walking tour through Wye Valley in July 1798. In the poem's final section, Wordsworth writes of Dorothy: "For thou art with me, here, upon the banks \ Of this fair river; thou, my dearest Friend".
The Wordsworths' stay at Alfoxton House was brief due to their financial difficulties. Dorothy began her Alfoxden Journal from January to May 1798, for which the manuscript is now lost. Subsequently, Dorothy, William, and Coleridge traveled to Germany in 1798, where Dorothy penned her "Hamburgh Journal."
In December 1799, Dorothy and William settled in Dove Cottage, located in Grasmere within England’s Lake District, where they resided until May 1808. Dorothy's Grasmere Journal, first published in 1897 and edited by William Angus Knight, provides a glimpse into their life during this period. Starting in 1800 and concluding with the completion of a notebook in 1803, the journal captures Dorothy's daily experiences in the Lake District. It recounts their countryside walks and offers detailed portraits of notable literary figures of the early 19th century, such as Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Sir Walter Scott, Charles Lamb, and Robert Southey. The Grasmere journals are considered fragmentary in nature and were originally intended for an audience consisting mainly of William and a select few close friends and family members.
In 1802, Dorothy journeyed with William to Gallow Hill, Yorkshire for his marriage to Mary Hutchinson. Dorothy did not attend the wedding ceremony. After their marriage, the Wordsworth siblings, with the addition of William’s new wife, returned to Grasmere. Dorothy played a devoted role in the lives of William and Mary's children born in the following years. In 1803, Dorothy joined William and Samuel Taylor Coleridge on a six-week tour of the Scottish Highlands. This journey inspired her to pen Recollections of a Tour Made in Scotland, which was, according to Dorothy, written for "the sake of a few friends, who, it seemed, ought to have been with us." She concluded her renowned Grasmere Journal in the same year.
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Dorothy Wordsworth
Dorothy Mae Ann Wordsworth (25 December 1771 – 25 January 1855) was an English author, poet, and diarist. She was the sister of the Romantic poet William Wordsworth, and the two were close all their adult lives. Dorothy Wordsworth had no ambitions to be a public author, yet she left behind numerous letters, diary entries, topographical descriptions, poems, and other writings.
Dorothy Mae Ann Wordsworth was born in Cockermouth, Cumberland on 25 December 1771. She was the sister of English Romantic poet William Wordsworth and the third of five children born to Ann Cookson and John Wordsworth. Following the death of her mother in 1778, Dorothy was sent alone to live with her second cousin, Elizabeth Threlkeld, in Halifax, West Yorkshire until 1787. During this period, Dorothy attended boarding school at Hipperholme before transferring to a day-school in Halifax.
In 1787, Dorothy moved to her grandparents' house in Penrith, re-establishing contact with her siblings after a nine-year separation. She moved to Forncett parish in Norfolk in 1788 with her recently wedded uncle and his wife, where she remained for six years. Dorothy dedicated her time to domestic duties and corresponded regularly to her brother William and her childhood friend, Jane Pollard. In a letter to Jane, Dorothy mentioned starting a small school consisting of nine local girls. William spent six weeks in Forncett at the end of 1790, during which time the Wordsworth siblings began their enduring practice of undertaking long walks together. Dorothy and William maintained a close bond throughout their lives.
In 1794, Dorothy was reunited with William after a three-year separation. The siblings resided at Old Windebrowe cottage for a period of two months. They later relocated to Racedown Lodge in Dorset, where they remained until 1797. During their time at Racedown, they began fostering a three-year-old boy named Basil Montagu. It was during this period that Dorothy was introduced to the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, whom William had briefly encountered two years prior, and from here the trio developed a close friendship. Coleridge wrote of Dorothy's character in a letter to his publisher: "Her information various—her eye watchful in minutest observation of nature".
In July 1797, despite facing financial constraints, Dorothy and William Wordsworth relocated to Alfoxton House in Somerset, a short distance from their new acquaintance Coleridge's residence. Together, Wordsworth and Coleridge, with insights from Dorothy, collaborated on "Lyrical Ballads" (1798). Among the collection is Wordsworth's famous poem "Tintern Abbey," inspired by their walking tour through Wye Valley in July 1798. In the poem's final section, Wordsworth writes of Dorothy: "For thou art with me, here, upon the banks \ Of this fair river; thou, my dearest Friend".
The Wordsworths' stay at Alfoxton House was brief due to their financial difficulties. Dorothy began her Alfoxden Journal from January to May 1798, for which the manuscript is now lost. Subsequently, Dorothy, William, and Coleridge traveled to Germany in 1798, where Dorothy penned her "Hamburgh Journal."
In December 1799, Dorothy and William settled in Dove Cottage, located in Grasmere within England’s Lake District, where they resided until May 1808. Dorothy's Grasmere Journal, first published in 1897 and edited by William Angus Knight, provides a glimpse into their life during this period. Starting in 1800 and concluding with the completion of a notebook in 1803, the journal captures Dorothy's daily experiences in the Lake District. It recounts their countryside walks and offers detailed portraits of notable literary figures of the early 19th century, such as Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Sir Walter Scott, Charles Lamb, and Robert Southey. The Grasmere journals are considered fragmentary in nature and were originally intended for an audience consisting mainly of William and a select few close friends and family members.
In 1802, Dorothy journeyed with William to Gallow Hill, Yorkshire for his marriage to Mary Hutchinson. Dorothy did not attend the wedding ceremony. After their marriage, the Wordsworth siblings, with the addition of William’s new wife, returned to Grasmere. Dorothy played a devoted role in the lives of William and Mary's children born in the following years. In 1803, Dorothy joined William and Samuel Taylor Coleridge on a six-week tour of the Scottish Highlands. This journey inspired her to pen Recollections of a Tour Made in Scotland, which was, according to Dorothy, written for "the sake of a few friends, who, it seemed, ought to have been with us." She concluded her renowned Grasmere Journal in the same year.
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