Wordsworth's Reading 1770-1799 lists all of the authors and (where possible) books known to have been read by William Wordsworth from his childhood until his move to Dove Cottage in 1799 at the age of twenty-nine. This information is presented in an easy-to-use form - in alphabetical order by author - and includes dates of reading and full discussions of the evidence. It draws on analyses of Wordsworth's manuscripts contained in current or forthcoming scholarly editions of his works, and incorporates a great deal of original research into the poet's intellectual development, including studies of the libraries of John Wordsworth Sr. (the poet's father), Hawkshead Grammar School, Racedown Lodge, and the Bristol Library Society. Where possible, surviving copies of Wordsworth's books are examined and described. This is the most complete study of Wordsworth's reading to date, and will be an essential reference tool for all scholars and students of his work.

Preface; Acknowledgements; List of abbreviations; Dates of readings; A note on texts; Wordsworth's reading 1770-1799; Appendix I: possible readings; Appendix II: Wordsworth's Hawkshead and classical educations, and his College examinations at Cambridge; Appendix III: books purchased for Wordsworth, 1784-6; Appendix IV: Wrangham and his library; Appendix V: Thomas Poole's library and the Stowey Book Society; Appendix VI: Coleridge's Bristol Library borrowings; Appendix VII: Joseph Cottle's Bristol Library borrowings; Bibliography; Index.

Duncan Wu is Raymond A. Wagner Professor of Literary Studies at Georgetown University, Washington, DC. He has also been a Professor at the University of Glasgow (1995-2000) and St Catherine's College, Oxford (2000-2008). He has published a number of books about the Romantic poets and is best known for Romanticism: An Anthology, which will proceed to its fifth edition in 2024. He has also written reviews and feature articles for The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian and The Independent. 'Origin Myths' is his first poetry collection.