The Hidden Wordsworth

By Kenneth R. Johnston

Book Overview

In this fascinating account, Kenneth R. Johnston portrays a Wordsworth different in crucial ways from the one the poet intended us to know. Taking advantage of unprecedented access to archives, family papers, and letters, he reveals the poet's complex relationship with his sister Dorothy; the full story of the affair with his French mistress, Annette Vallon; and his surprisingly close connections to both radical reformers and the political establishment of his day, including members of the newly formed British Secret Service in England and Germany. The Hidden Wordsworth also explores the poet's intense and often destructive relations with a cluster of young writers, leading up to his friendship with Samuel Taylor Coleridge. This brilliantly insightful biography breaks through the carefully crafted but frequently misleading accounts of his youth Wordsworth created in his conservative later years. The Hidden Wordsworth reveals the radical young poet whose powerful intellect revolutionized English poetry. Winner of the 1998 Jean Baracelli Prize from the American Conference on Romanticism; shortlisted for the James Tait Black biography prize (UK); a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. Full of fresh information, fresh insights, and fresh intelligent critical readings of the poetry.--Stephen M. Parrish, editor, The Cornell Wordsworth

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393321592
• ISBN13: 9780393321593
• Release Date: July 2001
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 738 Pages
• Weight: 2.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.2" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Nothing Under Cover!

I've read Wordsworth my whole life, and my hunched posture, bland disposition, and general resentment of other people's successes are testament to what happens when one gives oneself- like a prom queen- to the WORDSWORTHer. Johnstone does admirable work here, giving us the dirt on the man and the truth about his years in Hollywood. Who knew that Wordsworth was a spy, or that he was the basis of the famous spy vrs spy strip? Johnson's fine research helped me appreciate that strip much more than i had.

Fabulous read!- The Hidden Salami of the Poet

Excellent book! I liked the textual innuendo here, that our most bucolic and turgid of romantic poets was indeed a spy, mostly in the house of love, macking on Dorothea, his sister later of Oz fame, as well as many French Aristocrats and poetesses. This book displays brilliant research and impressive critical girth. The tale of Johnson provides a rich and yeasty reading of Wordsworth's "Prelude" as a love poem to Coleridge, what Johnson calls the foreplay to romanticism itself. Read this book for the rich critical ideas and the saucy details about how, where, and how often the poet hides himself.