This volume contains more than 150 letters, most previously unpublished, which appeared too late for inclusion in the second edition of
The Letters of William and Dorothy Wordsworth
(1967-88). They are indispensable for understanding the poet and the inner dynamics of the Wordsworth circle. These letters, varied in tone and subject matter, will do much to dispel the idea that he was invariably a reluctant or reserved correspondent. Dorothy Wordsworth, by contrast, fills out all the details of domestic life which her brother thought it unnecessary to dwell on, and her letters add their own characteristic touches to the picture of the Wordsworth circle—until the final breakdown of her health.