Research in full swing

Red squirrels are endangered; we've yet to see the actual squirrels.

One of the coffin stones along the trail where pall bearers would rest the coffin on the long walk from Rydal to St. Oswald's church in Grasmere.

A nice view of Grasmere from the trail.

Rydal Water in the distance.

A glorious sunset.

Same view; more landscape.

The library was a bustling place the beginning of this week. Assistant Curator Beccy Turner has been busy mapping out the upcoming exhibit on Dorothy Wordsworth.  She had books and display text laid out on the table to make sure that each text had something significant to display.  Later in the week, Pamela Woof came in to look things over.  And Jeff popped in and out to check on the progress.  I’m always fascinated by the level of activity at the Trust.  It’s never distracting—the staff always makes sure they are not disturbing those in the Reading Room—but it gives one a sense of just how much work goes into maintaining and operating a museum and library.  No one is sitting around twiddling their thumbs, I can tell you that much.  The interns, too, look as if they are beginning to understand the work of the place.  I’ve seen them do a range of jobs from learning to guide tours in the Cottage to transcribing texts to help Jeff prepare for a talk.  They will leave at the end of the year with a good sense of what it takes to run and maintain an active archive.

            I’ve hit my stride with my own research.  I’ve been looking at letters written to Wordsworth around the time of the publishing of the Excursion.  Here is where the access to Library sources is invaluable as much of the material I’m now viewing has never been printed.  It’s fascinating to see how readers—and not just reviewers—were responding to the Excursion.

            One of the nice things about being here is the ability to walk to the reference shelf and take down pretty much any book I need, including the printed editions of the letters of the Wordsworths and of Coleridge.  One letter this week made me laugh out loud.  I don’t think of Wordsworth as a particular humorous gentleman, and I don’t know if he meant to be in this letter.  He was writing to Robert Anderson, the editor of a multi-volume, massive collection of British authors and their work.  I had just finished looking at some of the volumes earlier in the week, so I knew just how comprehensive a collection it is.  Well, apparently, according to this letter, Wordsworth and Southey were talking one day and started to list what was not in the collection!  And they sent the list to Anderson with a suggestion that he include these authors (and a promise to subscribe to the additional volumes if he did so).  The image of the two of them sitting around making such a list made me laugh.  Isn’t this the kind of thing we all sometimes do with friends? Critiquing some film or book?  But the fact that Wordsworth wrote and sent the letter—well, that says something about the man, doesn’t it?

            I’m also enjoying learning to read the handwriting of the age.  The most enjoyable has to be John Edwards, who obviously took great care with his penmanship.  There’s a tie for the most challenging—either Dorothy Wordsworth or Coleridge.  Fortunately, most of the material I’m reading from these two authors can be checked against printed editions.

            The photos are from Friday afternoon.  I was at home working with some of the material I’d gathered that morning, and the day was just too nice to stay inside.  Even though it was just an hour to sunset, we decided to head up the Coffin Route towards Rydal Mount.  We almost reached Rydal, but it was getting dark enough that we thought we better head back.  The Coffin Route is the trail that was used to carry coffins from Rydal and other surrounding communities to St. Oswald’s church in Grasmere.  It’s a sweet little walk, and we look forward to completing it soon.