This directory of the authors and books known to have been read by William Wordsworth up to the age of twenty-nine provides an essential reference tool - in a compact, easy-to-use form - for all scholars and students of Wordsworth's work.

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 a most complete study of Wordsworth’s reading, and will be an essential reference tool for all scholars and students of his work.