Recollections of the Lake Poets facts for kids
Recollections of the Lake Poets is a book of essays by the English writer Thomas De Quincey. These essays were first printed in Tait's Edinburgh Magazine from 1834 to 1840. In them, De Quincey shared early and honest stories about the three famous Lake Poets: William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and Robert Southey. He also wrote about other people they knew.
Why De Quincey Wrote About the Poets
De Quincey knew the Lake Poets very well. He had spent time with them in the early 1800s. About twenty years later, he decided to write about his memories.
He wrote in a very open and honest way. This was unusual for biographies back then. His writings gave a real look at these famous people. De Quincey was also the first to talk about plagiarism in Coleridge's writings. This was a big deal that many people did not discuss until much later.
How People Reacted to the Book
De Quincey's honest writing about people who were still alive or had recently passed away was very rare. It caused some strong reactions.
When the essays first came out in the mid-1830s, Robert Southey was very upset. He called De Quincey names like "cowardly spy" and "traitor." Southey felt De Quincey had betrayed their friendship.
However, not everyone reacted so strongly. Sara Coleridge, Samuel Taylor Coleridge's daughter, thought De Quincey's writing about her father was fair. She found his insights helpful and mostly true.
What Essays Are in the Book?
De Quincey wrote many times about the "Lake School" poets. He focused a lot on Wordsworth and Coleridge. The main essays in this collection include:
- "Samuel Taylor Coleridge," published in Tait's Magazine from September to November 1834 and in January 1835.
- "A Letter to William Wordsworth," published in August 1835.
- "William Wordsworth," published in January, February, and April 1839.
- "William Wordsworth and Robert Southey," published in July 1839.
- "Southey, Wordsworth, and Coleridge," published in August 1839.
- "Recollections of Grasmere," published in September 1839.
- "The Saracen's Head," published in December 1839.
- "Westmoreland and the Dalesmen," published in January 1840.
- "Society of the Lakes, I, II, and III," published in January, March, and June 1840.
Different Versions of the Book
After these essays first appeared, some were included in a larger collection of De Quincey's works. This was called Selections Grave and Gay (1854). For this edition, De Quincey changed his essays. He cut some parts and added others.
The essays were later printed again as a separate book in 1862. This book was titled Recollections of the Lakes and the Lake Poets. It is not certain if De Quincey chose this title himself.
In the 1900s, there were three more editions of the essays. Edward Sackville-West's Recollections of the Lake Poets (1948) and John E. Jordan's Reminiscences of the English Lake Poets (1961) used the updated texts from 1854. However, David Wright's 1970 edition went back to the original essays and the 1862 title.
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