Radical Wordsworth

The life and times of the celebrated Romantic poet is revealed in this “magnificent biography . . . Both erudite and utterly absorbing” (Daily Mail).

This is the biography of a great poetic genius, a revolutionary who changed the world. William Wordsworth rejoiced in the French Revolution and played a central role in the cultural upheaval that we call the Romantic Revolution. He and his fellow Romantics changed forever the way we think about childhood, the sense of the self, our connection to the natural environment, and the purpose of poetry. But his was also a revolutionary life in the old sense of the word, insofar as his art was of memory, the return of the past, the circling back to childhood and youth.

This beautifully written biography is purposefully fragmentary, momentary, and selective, opening up what Wordsworth called “the hiding-places of my power.”

“Bate is a supremely capable guide, steeped in the poet’s work and milieu. . . . Radical Wordsworth—‘radical’ not just in his youthful politics but in his poetry’s return to the roots of selfhood and society—deserves to take its place as the finest modern introduction to his work, life and impact. It shows how and why ‘Wordsworth made a difference.’” —Financial Times

“[A] marvelous biography . . . that celebrates the fact that our lives are marked by turning points, not routine. . . . [An] inspiring, fleet-footed book.” —The Guardian