Wordsworth Trust Acquires Three of the Poet's Letters

The Wordsworth Trust, which operates Wordsworth Grasmere and Dove Cottage, has acquired three letters written by William Wordsworth.

The letters were purchased for £5,000 at auction at Christie’s earlier this year with the support of Friends of the Nations’ Libraries and a private supporter. They include references to Wordsworth’s political views and the challenges he faced in engaging in national affairs from his home in rural Westmorland. They also show the extent of Wordsworth’s circle, especially his connections with prominent figures of the Romantic period in Britain.

The earliest of the three letters, dated May 24, 1809, when the Wordsworths were living at Allan Bank is to British essayist, critic and memoirist Thomas De Quincey, a close friend of Wordsworth. It details his trepidation over the publication of his first political pamphlet, The Convention of Cintra, an attack on British diplomacy during the Napoleonic Wars. The letter also contains the handwriting of William’s sister-in-law Sara Hutchinson. She writes with news of Dove Cottage which the Wordsworths were busy making ready for De Quincey to take over the tenancy.

The other two letters are from Wordsworth to Sir William Rowan Hamilton. The acquisition of these two letters is particularly significant as the Wordsworth Trust already holds letters from Hamilton to Wordsworth. One is written from Rydal Mount where Hamilton stayed in 1830 and 1831. He left a record of his visits in an album belonging to the Wordsworths’ daughter Dora which also forms part of the Wordsworth Trust’s collection. The Wordsworth Trust took over ownership of Rydal Mount earlier this year.

All three letters will eventually go on display at Wordsworth Grasmere.

“We are incredibly lucky to have such generous donors to help us to continue to build on our existing collection," said Wordsworth Trust Director, Michael McGregor. "Without their help this simply wouldn’t be possible. Wordsworth Grasmere is rare as a literary attraction in having so much primary material in the location in which it was inspired and written.”