The Ballad of Dorothy Wordsworth - Softcover

Wilson, Frances

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0571230482 ISBN 13: 9780571230488

Publisher: Faber & Faber, 2009

Synopsis

Ordinarily presented as a self-effacing virgin or sacrificial saint, Dorothy Wordsworth was a talented writer and exceptional woman. She was William Wordsworth's inspiration, aide and most valued reader and traded in a conventional life to share in his world of words. In her journals, Dorothy kept a record of their idyllic life together. The tale that unfolds through her brief, lyrical entries reveals a strange, intangible love between brother and sister, culminating in Dorothy's dramatic collapse on the day of William's wedding. In her beautifully told biography, Frances Wilson brings Dorothy to life in all her complexity. From the restrained prose of Dorothy's journals, she uncovers the rich emotional life of a woman who suffered the jealousies of a discarded mistress - and eventually insanity.

About this title

Review

Elegant . . . Ms. Wilson's decision to limit her scope was a small bit of genius. She's written a succinct yet roomy book, one that moves along with novelistic buoyancy and grace. She gets the facts-to-fancy ratio, always a difficult one for a biographer to weigh, exactly right. She lays out the essentials of Dorothy Wordsworth's life like a well-orchestrated banquet, leaving no doubt that the resonating years 1800-3 are the bravura main course . . . In The Ballad of Dorothy Wordsworth, Ms. Wilson strides purposefully through Wordsworth's intoxicating life, quibbling when needed with earlier biographers, poking into every bit of tangled brush, triangulating her subject's life through the work of many other writers, some of them contemporary. The range of this biographer's references is wide, and wickedly inclusive. One chapter begins with a quotation from the political-punk band Gang of Four: 'This heaven gives me migraine.' This book, its own kind of heaven, gave me quite the opposite. Dwight Garner, The New York Times

Entertaining and sometimes ingenious . . . Wilson . . . makes a strong case for taking a fresh look at Dorothy Wordsworth . . . [She] dives deep and headlong into the journals, applying various modern psychological and medical hypotheses. She comes up with some fascinating insights. Jamie James, Los Angeles Times

Sensitive and elegantly written. Publishers Weekly

Frances Wilson's gifts as a textual critic, and her flair for dramatic storytelling, have delivered a new and potent Dorothy Wordsworth for the 21st century. In its precision and subtlety, her book has the power of a great portrait miniature. Mark Bostridge, The Independent on Sunday

[Wilson] is not always respectful, but she is always interesting . . . This gripping narrative presents a character more subtle than the devoted, self-effacing amanuensis of tradition, or the later feminist stereotype. Margaret Drabble, The Times Literary Supplement

An elegant, psychologically astute and original book. Virginia Rounding, The Observer

[A] fine biography . . . Eloquent in her revelation of Dorothy's tormented private self, Wilson is equally sensitive and astute in her reading of the journals. Miranda Seymour, The Times (London)

The Ballad of Dorothy Wordsworth doesn't disappoint . . . She writes with a definite sense of astonishment, but controls it with calm scholarly interest and a prevailing mood of humane tolerance. The combination is deeply attractive and original. Andrew Motion, The Guardian

Beautifully written, at times combative, and displaying a formidable knowledge of literature . . . Dorothy emerges as a fascinating woman--neither a handmaiden nor a victim but a talented and broken human being. Richard King, The Sydney Morning Herald

[An] enjoyable and original book . . . Frances Wilson sensitively analyses this intense relationship, and provides a cleverly structured commentary on the journal as a whole . . . Wilson is a good scholar and her judgment is sound; moreover, she is not afraid to use her imagination to carefully explore what cannot be verified. Adam Sisman, The Irish Times

Sympathetic . . . Informed by delicacy and common sense . . . The writing is often lovely, and there are many moving, observant collations between the journal entries and William's poems. Ann Wroe, The Daily Telegraph

This searing portrait of Dorothy Wordsworth draws on her celebrated journals but refracts them through a distinctly now sensibility. This is not the Dorothy so movingly addressed at the conclusion of her brother's magnum opus Tintern Abbey.' Nor is this the self-effacing sororal companion of the poet's youth, and helpmeet and support of his sedate later life. Here, she is at the center of a nest of incest, anorexia, and destructive passions reminiscent of Wuthering heights (indeed, Wilson speculates that Emily Bronte based Heathcliff and Cathy on her understanding of the relationship between the Wordsworth siblings). For all the author's aggressively contemporary psychological perspectives, Wilson has produced a deeply insightful, disturbing correcting to the conventional understanding of the angel of Dove Cottage. The Atlantic Monthly

Graceful, perceptive and poignant. Kirkus Reviews

"

"Elegant . . . Ms. Wilson's decision to limit her scope was a small bit of genius. She's written a succinct yet roomy book, one that moves along with novelistic buoyancy and grace. She gets the facts-to-fancy ratio, always a difficult one for a biographer to weigh, exactly right. She lays out the essentials of Dorothy Wordsworth's life like a well-orchestrated banquet, leaving no doubt that the resonating years 1800-3 are the bravura main course . . . In The Ballad of Dorothy Wordsworth, Ms. Wilson strides purposefully through Wordsworth's intoxicating life, quibbling when needed with earlier biographers, poking into every bit of tangled brush, triangulating her subject's life through the work of many other writers, some of them contemporary. The range of this biographer's references is wide, and wickedly inclusive. One chapter begins with a quotation from the political-punk band Gang of Four: 'This heaven gives me migraine.' This book, its own kind of heaven, gave me quite the opposite." --Dwight Garner, The New York Times

"Entertaining and sometimes ingenious . . . Wilson . . . makes a strong case for taking a fresh look at Dorothy Wordsworth . . . [She] dives deep and headlong into the journals, applying various modern psychological and medical hypotheses. She comes up with some fascinating insights." --Jamie James, Los Angeles Times

"Sensitive and elegantly written." --Publishers Weekly

"Frances Wilson's gifts as a textual critic, and her flair for dramatic storytelling, have delivered a new and potent Dorothy Wordsworth for the 21st century. In its precision and subtlety, her book has the power of a great portrait miniature." --Mark Bostridge, The Independent on Sunday

"[Wilson] is not always respectful, but she is always interesting . . . This gripping narrative presents a character more subtle than the devoted, self-effacing amanuensis of tradition, or the later feminist stereotype." --Margaret Drabble, The Times Literary Supplement

"An elegant, psychologically astute and original book." --Virginia Rounding, The Observer

"[A] fine biography . . . Eloquent in her revelation of Dorothy's tormented private self, Wilson is equally sensitive and astute in her reading of the journals." --Miranda Seymour, The Times (London)

"The Ballad of Dorothy Wordsworth doesn't disappoint . . . She writes with a definite sense of astonishment, but controls it with calm scholarly interest and a prevailing mood of humane tolerance. The combination is deeply attractive and original." --Andrew Motion, The Guardian

"Beautifully written, at times combative, and displaying a formidable knowledge of literature . . . Dorothy emerges as a fascinating woman--neither a handmaiden nor a victim but a talented and broken human being." --Richard King, The Sydney Morning Herald

"[An] enjoyable and original book . . . Frances Wilson sensitively analyses this intense relationship, and provides a cleverly structured commentary on the journal as a whole . . . Wilson is a good scholar and her judgment is sound; moreover, she is not afraid to use her imagination to carefully explore what cannot be verified." --Adam Sisman, The Irish Times

"Sympathetic . . . Informed by delicacy and common sense . . . The writing is often lovely, and there are many moving, observant collations between the journal entries and William's poems." --Ann Wroe, The Daily Telegraph

"This searing portrait of Dorothy Wordsworth draws on her celebrated journals but refracts them through a distinctly now sensibility. This is not the Dorothy so movingly addressed at the conclusion of her brother's magnum opus 'Tintern Abbey.' Nor is this the self-effacing sororal companion of the poet's youth, and helpmeet and support of his sedate later life. Here, she is at the center of a nest of incest, anorexia, and destructive passions reminiscent of Wuthering heights (indeed, Wilson speculates that Emily Bronte based Heathcliff and Cathy on her understanding of the relationship between the Wordsworth siblings). For all the author's aggressively contemporary psychological perspectives, Wilson has produced a deeply insightful, disturbing correcting to the conventional understanding of the angel of Dove Cottage." --The Atlantic Monthly

"Graceful, perceptive and poignant." --Kirkus Reviews

Book Description

The Ballad of Dorothy Wordsworth, by Frances Wilson, is a hugely powerful biography of Wordsworth's beloved sister, champion and muse.

About this edition

• Publisher: Faber & Faber
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0571230482
• ISBN 13: 9780571230488
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 320