In this second edition of William Wordsworth: A Life, Stephen Gill draws on knowledge of the poet's creative practices and his reputation and influence in his life-time and beyond. Refusing to treat the poet's later years as of little interest, this biography presents a narrative of the whole of Wordsworth's long life—1770 to 1850—tracing the development from the adventurous youth who alone of the great Romantic poets saw life in revolutionary France to the old man who became Queen Victoria's Poet Laureate. The various phases of Wordsworth's life are explored with a not uncritical sympathy; the narrative brings out the courage he and his wife and family were called upon to show as they crafted the life they wanted to lead. While the emphasis is on Wordsworth the writer, the personal relationships that nourished his creativity are fully treated, as are the historical circumstances that affected the production of his poetry. Wordsworth, it is widely believed, valued poetic spontaneity. He did, but he also took pains over every detail of the process of publication. The foundation of this second edition of the biography remains, as it was of the first, a conviction that Wordsworth's poetry, which has given pleasure and comfort to generations of readers in the past, will continue to do so in the years to come.

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Dr G.S.P. Freeman-Grenville was the consultant for Burke's Royal Families of the World, and his major work was the Chronology of World History. This specially commissioned Book of the Kings & Queens of Britain, a magisterial and entertainingly written overview of British monarchs from Cerdic, First King of Wessex, to George VI, is an invaluable guide to the regal chronology of Britain, and contains many insights into the foibles of one of the world's most interesting and resilient constitutional monarchies - through the vagaries of war, pestilence, regicide, civil wars and marriage.

"The classic Wordsworth poem is depicted in vibrant illustrations, perfect for pint-sized poetry fans."

The Reputation Of Wordsworth, Once Regarded As The Most Important Exponent Of English Romanticism, Has, Strangely, Been Quite Controversial, And The Critical Reception Of His Poetry Had Many Ups And Downs. If Arnold Considers Him One Of The Chief Glories Of English Poetry Byron Considers Him As A Hireling Poet And A Prince Of Dullness, And It Is A Fact That Never In His Lifetime Wordsworth Came Near To Such Popularity As That Of Scott Or Byron. Yet, Southey Whom Wordsworth Succeeded As Poet Laureate Held That A Greater Poet Than Wordsworth There Never Has Been Or Will Be. Tennyson Was Grateful To Wordsworth For What He Had Learned From Him And Kept His Admiration For Him On Record In His Verse.It Will Be Salutary To Revisit Wordsworth, With The Benefit Of Hindsight, Through The Essays Included In This Volume Most Of Which Were Written More Than Hundred Years Ago, And Draw Our Independent Conclusions. The Students And Teachers Of English Literature Will Certainly Find These Historically Valuable Essays, Some Of Which Are Not Easily Accessible These Days, Very Useful And Exciting, And A Scholar On Wordsworth Can Least Afford To Ignore Them.Contents: Wordsworth S Life: An Outline, Coleridge On Wordsworth, Hazlitt On Wordsworth, De Quincey On Wordsworth, Arnold On Wordsworth, Morley On Wordsworth, Herford On Wordsworth, Elton On Wordsworth.