born Dec. 25, 1771, Cockermouth, Cumberland, Eng.
died Jan. 25, 1855, Rydal Mount, Westmorland
English writer.
An inspiring influence on her brother William Wordsworth , she lived with him from 1795 onward. Her Alfoxden Journal 1798 (1897)
from the period when he and Samuel Taylor Coleridge produced Lyrical Ballads (1798)
and Grasmere Journals 180003 (1897) are intimate records of their lives. Both are appreciated for their imaginative descriptions of nature, their perfection of style, and their revelation of her personality as well as for the light they throw on her brother. In 1829 severe illness left her an invalid, and her mind was clouded in her last 20 years.