Reviews for Letters of Dorothy Wordsworth: A Selection

The average rating for Letters of Dorothy Wordsworth: A Selection based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2016-09-28 00:00:00 Edward Thomas I find this book hard to rate. On one hand it is Dorothy Wordsworth's letters, I find her fascinating, will read the phone book if she is involved, so 5 stars; but on the other hand, my enjoyment did fade at times, so 2 stars. Then I thought, wait, this is a SELECTION that is EDITED by Alan G Hill, so this is how I'm reviewing it. I did enjoy this collection, HOWEVER, if you are not already firmly down the Wordsworth rabbit-hole than you may not be able to tolerate these letters. Blimey, Dorothy wrote long, detailed letters!! I realise that it was the only way of communicating back then, so in a way these were fashionable, but Dorothy's border on monologues. This is the only example of her letters I have seen, but I'm going to assume they are in the majority this lengthy all the time. If you are not border-line obsessed with the Wordsworth's then I imagine the minute, dull sounding details Dorothy talks of would make you give up. All the references to people we are supposed to know!! There needs to be a list of people mentioned, not just the list of correspondents at the start of the book. It is also rather irritating how Dorothy does not use the concept of paragraphs properly. Her sentence structure seems over-blown too and particularly wordy. She doesn't seem to be a "less is more" type of woman! What does come across in this selection (and I don't know if it is the choice of letters or just the way Dorothy was) is a rather snobby, aristocratic tone, which doesn't seem to match up with the way she lived her life (the type of house, the area they chose to settle in). It did make me think differently about the Wordsworth's choice of area and accommodation, why they made the choices they did. I was disappointed that these letters did not really offer any further insight into Dorothy's personality. She comes across as kind yet harsh, funny yet pompous. The most interesting letter I thought was to Mrs Clarkson on May 12th 1811 when Dorothy recounts why Coleridge is angry with William, and she defends her brother, but yet is not rude about Coleridge. She obviously cared very deeply about Coleridge. She did not take sides over the argument and she continued to be concerned for Coleridge's welfare. The last letter I found to be a very good poignant ending as it shows Dorothy's demise in older age. I am still left with the question of does this selection do Dorothy Wordsworth justice? No, I don't believe it does. She is far come complex and interesting than these letters give her credit for.

Review # 2 was written on 2019-04-21 00:00:00 Tony Jones An interesting text for Lewis enthusiasts. Thankfully, English translations are included for those of us who didn't study Latin, or have forgotten everything their professors tried to teach them (sorry, Dr. Goodyear!).