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WORDSWORTHANDCOLERIDGE Wordsworthand Coleridge TheRadicalYears SecondEdition NICHOLASROE 3 GreatClarendonStreet,Oxford,OX26DP, UnitedKingdom
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Tothememoryof JOHNTHELWALL Citizen,Poet,Prophet 1764–1834
‘Andpleasewhat’sHulks?’ saidI.
‘That’sthewaywiththisboy!’ exclaimedmysister,pointingmeout withherneedleandthread,andshakingherheadatme. ‘Answer himonequestion,andhe’llaskyouadozendirectly.Hulksare prison-ships,right ’crossth’ meshes.’ Wealwaysusedthatnamefor marshes,inourcountry.
‘Iwonderwho’sputintoprison-ships,andwhythey’reputthere?’ saidI,inageneralway,andwithquietdesperation. ItwastoomuchforMrsJoe,whoimmediatelyrose. ‘Itellyouwhat, youngfellow,’ saidshe, ‘Ididn’tbringyouupbyhandtobadger people’slivesout.PeopleareputintheHulksbecausetheymurder, andbecausetheyrob,andforge,anddoallsortsofbad;andthey alwaysbeginbyaskingquestions.’
(CharlesDickens, GreatExpectations,ch.2)
Preface,1988–2018 OnTuesday30September1794thefollowingadvertisementappeared onthefrontpageofthe MorningChronicle:
ThoseFamilieswhoseHusbandsandFathersarenowinConfinementunder aChargeof HIGHTREASON,andwhoseTrialswillcomeoninafewDays intreatthe IMMEDIATEPECUNIARYASSISTANCE ofthe REAL FriendstoLiberty.
Thehusbandsandfatherschargedwithtreasonweretheleadersofthe LondonCorrespondingSocietyandtheSocietyforConstitutionalInformation.TheyhadbeenarrestedinMayandheldintheTowerand Newgateoverthesummer;notsurprisingly,theirdependentswerein needofsupportafterfourmonths hencethesubscriptionorganizedby theCorrespondingSociety’sCommitteeofCorrespondence.
The ‘ REAL FriendstoLiberty’ respondedgenerously.On19November, thecommitteeannouncedthat£31419s.3d.hadbeencollected,and publishedalistofsubscribers.AmongthemweretheCountessDowager ofStanhope,£20;CharlesJamesFox,£10;ThomasWalkerofManchester,3guineas;andFrancisPlace,breeches-maker,5s.Butonecontributioninparticularleapsoutofthelist: ‘CitizenWordsworth1s. 0d. ’ This donationwasreceivedbyJohnSmith,abooksellerinPortsmouthStreet, Lincoln’sInnFields.Smithwasalsoaleaderofthe29thDivisionofthe CorrespondingSociety,andamemberofthecommitteethathadorganizedthesubscription.Butwhowas ‘CitizenWordsworth’,andwashein factWilliamWordsworth?
Asitturnsout,no. ‘CitizenWordsworth’ wasHenryWordsworthof JewinStreet,London,andamemberofbooksellerSmith’s29thDivision. Still,thetantalizingpossibilitythatWilliamWordsworthmightbefound amongthemassedfriendsoflibertyintheCorrespondingSocietywasmy starting-pointforthemoreextensivestudyofWordsworth’sandColeridge’sradicalyearsinthisbook.Ihavetakentheyearsbetween1789and thepoets’ departureforGermanyinSeptember1798asmyperiod,and havelookedbackatreligiousdissentinCambridgesince1770toprovidea contextforColeridge’spolitics,andforwardsbywayofincorporating The Prelude, TheFriend,BiographiaLiteraria,andotherlaterwritings.
Thisneweditionofthebookhasbeenrevised,updated,andslightly expanded.Ihavetakenaccountofthemostsignificantworkinthe fieldover thethreedecadessincethebook firstappeared,drawnfreshmaterialfrom manuscripts,newspapers,andelectronicsources,andgivenmoreattention
tothepoetry.Thebibliographyhasgrown.Thechaptersareinabroadly chronologicalsequence.Chapter1presentssomeofthedifficultiesin Wordsworth’sandColeridge’sretrospectiveaccountsoftheirradicalyears, andisineffectamanifestoforthedocumentaryandbiographicalresearch thatunderpinsthewholestudy.Chapter2looksatearlyresponsestothe FrenchRevolutionduringtheyears1789–91;Chapter3exploresWordsworth’svisitstoFrancein1790and1792,andhisinterveningmonthsat Londoninspring1791.Chapter4offersaretrospectonradicaldissentat Cambridgeinthedecadespriorto1789,focusinguponWilliamFrendand GeorgeDyeraswellasColeridge’spoliticalcareerfrom1794on.Taking bearingsfromthesedifferentbackgrounds,Chapter5treatsbothpoets’ oppositiontowarafterFebruary1793,arguingthatcontemporaryliterature ofprotestencouragedWordsworth’simaginativeencountersin ‘Salisbury Plain’ , TheBorderers, ‘TheRuinedCottage’,andsomeofhispoemsin Lyrical Ballads (1798).Chapter6reconsidersWordsworth’sandColeridge’ sconnectionswiththepopularreformmovement,andtoJohnThelwalland WilliamGodwininparticular.Aswith ‘CitizenWordsworth’,I’mafraid IcannotrevealthatthepoetsjoinedtheCorrespondingSociety;therewereno secretsubscriptions,nofurtivedonations.Thatsaid,bothofthemwereso closelylinkedwiththeSociety’sleadershipthatthematterofformalmembershipwasoflittlesignificance.Chapter7presentsRobespierreasacautionarybutnotunattractive figureforWordsworth,Coleridge,andThelwall, arguingthatthepoets’ self-recognitionintheJacobinleaderhasmuchtotell usaboutWordsworth’ s ‘crisis’ intheyears1795–6andColeridge’srolein theirearlyfriendship.My finalchapterusestheSpyNozyincidentasaway intothepoets’ livesof ‘philosophicamity’ atNetherStoweyandAlfoxden, 1797–8.Theirexperiencesarepresentedalongsidethoseofcontemporaries whoalso figurethroughoutthebook,bywayofcomplicatingtherustyold storyinwhichradicalcommitmentisinevitablysucceededby ‘ apostasy ’.In allchaptersIhavetriedtoshowhowtheradicalyearsareintegraltoeach poet ’slatercreativelife;tosubstantiatethis,ashortEpilogueoffersclose readingsof ‘FearsinSolitude’ and ‘TinternAbbey’ . Throughoutthisbookthereareepisodes,incidents,andindividuals Iwouldliketoknowmoreabout.WhodidWordsworthmeetatParis andelsewhereinFranceduring1792?Weknowafewnames,butthese compriseatinyfractionofthepeopleheencountered.Alltoooften therecordsareincompleteormissing.ThomasCarlyle’sanecdotethat WordsworthsaidhehadseenGorsasguillotinedatParisinOctober1793 seemstometoringtrue:howorwhywouldCarlyle orWordsworth haveinventedsuchastory?Thereismuchmoretobesaidabout Coleridge’ s Watchman journalof1796,andIsuspectthatthe ‘Spy Nozy’ episodeofthefollowingyearmaystillbeincompletelyunderstood.
AnearlydraftchapteronSoutheywasomitted,andsubsequentlypublishedinmybook ThePoliticsofNature:WilliamWordsworthandSome Contemporaries;Southeydeservesmorethoroughconsiderationthanproved possibleinthisstudy.
Iamgratefultothestaffofthefollowinginstitutions:BathPublic ReferenceLibrary;theBibliothèqueMunicipale,Blois;TheBodleian Library;BristolCityLibraryandBristolUniversityLibrary;TheBritish Library;CambridgeUniversityLibrary;DoveCottageLibrary,Grasmere; DundeePublicReferenceLibrary;thelibrariesofEmmanuelCollege, Cambridge,andNuffieldCollege,Oxford;thePublicRecordOfficesat ChanceryLaneandKew;StAndrewsUniversityLibrary;TullieHouse Library,Carlisle;andQueen’sUniversityLibrary,Belfast.Iwouldliketo thankthefollowingforpermissiontoquotefrommanuscriptsandto reproducevisualmaterial:LordAbinger,fortheAbinger–ShelleyPapers; ViscountKnebworth,fortheLovelace–ByronPapers;theLibrarianof BristolUniversityLibrary,forthePinneyPapers;theTrusteesofDove Cottage,forBasilMontagu’ s ‘Narrativeofthebirthandupbringingof hisson’;theNationalLibraryofWales;theNationalPortraitGallery, London;andtheNationalLibraryofScotlandfortheBlackwoodPapers. Myoriginalresearchforthisbookwasmateriallyhelpedbygrantsfrom thePresidentandFellowsofTrinityCollege,Oxford;fromQueen’ s University,Belfast;andfromtheUniversityofStAndrews.
InpreparingthisneweditionIhavemadeuseofelectronicdatabases thatgiveaccessinafewsecondstomaterialthatwouldformerlyhave takenweekstoresearch;ofparticularhelpwere BritishLibraryNewspapers; TheBritishNewspaperArchive; EdPopeHistory:LivesoftheForgotten; Gale HistoricalNewspapers; TheTimesDigitalArchive1785–2011;and The DiaryofWilliamGodwin.Webaddressesandaccessdetailsforeachare giveninthefootnotesandthebibliography.
PartofChapter6wasdeliveredtotheWordsworthSummerConferenceatGrasmerebackinAugust1982,andsubsequentlypublishedas ‘CitizenWordsworth’ inthe WordsworthCircle;earlierversionsof Chapters2and8havealsoappearedinthe WordsworthCircle,andI’ m gratefultotheeditorforpermissiontoreproducethismaterialhere. Chapter7waspresentedasalectureattheWordsworthSummerConferenceinAugust1984,andpublishedthefollowingyearasanessayin Coleridge’sImagination:EssaysinMemoryofPeterLaver.Passagesthatrefer toGeorgeDyerhavebeendrawnfromalectureon ‘RadicalGeorge’ given atameetingoftheCharlesLambSocietyinApril1984,laterpublishedin the CharlesLambBulletin.TheNewIntroductionwaspresentedasa lectureon ‘TheRadicalYearsRevisited’ atthe ‘PoliticsofRomanticism’ internationalconferenceoftheGesellschaftfürEnglischeRomantik
(SocietyforEnglishRomanticism)attheUniversityofBamberg,5–8 October2017.
IammuchindebtedtospecificvolumesintheCornellWordsworth SeriesandtheBollingen CollectedColeridge,someofwhichhavebeen publishedsincethisbook firstappeared.MaryThale’ s Selectionsfromthe PapersoftheLondonCorrespondingSociety,1792–1799 continuestobean invaluablereference.Overtheyearsdistinguishedscholarshaveinspired myowneffortsontheradical1790s:JohnBarrell,DavidBromwich, DavidErdman,KelvinEverest,DavidFairer,StephenGill,AlbertGoodwin,RichardHolmes,KennethR.Johnston,MarjorieLevinson,Michael O’Neill,SeamusPerry,E.P.Thompson,RichardMarggrafTurley,Jenny Uglow,andDamianWalfordDavies.
FriendsandcolleaguesofferedsupportandadvicewhenIwaswriting the firsteditionofthisbook:MichaelAlexander,RobertCrawford,Ashley Goodall,JuliaGreen,LucyNewlyn,NeilRhodes,JaneStabler,andJane andSimonTaylor.Sadly,alltoomanyarenolongerhere:MichaelAllen, JohnBeer,DennisBurden,JohnCronin,MichaelFoot,PeterLaver, MollyLefebure,ThomasMcFarland,PaulMagnuson,BillRuddick, SallyWoodhead,JonathanWordsworth,andRichardWordsworth. MaryTaylorskilfullypreparedtheoriginaltypescript,andKimScott Walwynsawthe firsteditionofthisbookthroughthepress.
IamgratefultoJacquelineNortonatOxfordUniversityPressfor commissioningthisneweditionof WordsworthandColeridge.TheRadical Years,andtoAimeeWrightandHelenBelgianfortheireditorialadvice. JeffCowton,JohnCoombe,andMelissaMitchellattheWordsworth TrusthelpedwithWordsworth’seditionofBurke.ColinHarrisatthe BodleianLibraryclarifiedtherenumberingoftheAbinger–Shelleymanuscripts,andentriesinthebibliographyhavebeenupdated.FrankBowles atCambridgeUniversityLibraryhascheckedshelfmarksfortheFrend papers,andconfirmsthattheyareunchanged.
StAndrews 1988–2018
2. ‘EuropewasRejoiced’:ResponsestoRevolution,1789–1791
3. ‘PrettyHotinIt’:WordsworthandFrance,1791–1792
4. ‘Mr.Frend’sCompany’:Cambridge,Dissent,andColeridge
5. ‘WarisAgainBrokenOut’:ProtestandPoetry,1793–1798
6. ‘ALightBequeathed’:Coleridge,Thelwall,Wordsworth, Godwin
7. ‘ASympathywithPower’:ImaginingRobespierre
Listofillustrations 1. ‘Iknewthisman.W.W’:Wordsworth’smarginalnoteaboutGorsas, fromEdmundBurke, TheWorksoftheRightHonourableEdmund Burke.ANewEdition (16vols;London,1812–1815),vii.305. ©TheWordsworthTrust,Grasmere.54
2.Theauthorof PeaceandUnion,WilliamFrend,byAndrewBirrell, afterSilvesterHarding;stippleengraving,published1793. ©NationalPortraitGallery,London.98
3. ‘Unpetitsouper,alaParisiènne; or afamilyofsans-culotts refreshing,afterthefatiguesoftheday’ byJamesGillray,published byHannahHumphrey,hand-colouredetching,published 20September1792.©NationalPortraitGallery,London.120
4. ‘Theplainfactis,Citizens... ’ . ‘CopenhagenHouse’ byJames Gillray,publishedbyHannahHumphrey,hand-coloured etching,published16November1795.©NationalPortraitGallery, London.147
5. ‘TheDemocratsare...sturdyinthesupportofme... ’.Samuel TaylorColeridgebyRobertHancock,black,red,andbrown chalkandpencil,1796.©NationalPortraitGallery,London.149
6. ‘Themostpowerfulandadmiredwritersoftheirday... ’.Thomas HolcroftandWilliamGodwinbySirThomasLawrence,pencil withblackandredchalk,1794.©NationalPortraitGallery, London.HolcroftandGodwinaredepictedincourtduringthe treasontrialsof1794.175
7. ‘WeareshockedtohearthatMr.Thelwallhasspentsometimeat Stoweythisweek... ’.JohnThelwall,attributedtoJohnHazlitt,oil oncanvas,circa1800–1805.©NationalPortraitGallery,London.235
8. ‘Isoongainedpositiveintelligencetheyhaddisembarkedabout1200 men,butnocannon... ’.JamesBaker, ‘GoodwickSands’,circa1797. BypermissionofLlyfrgellGenedlaetholCymru/TheNational LibraryofWales.251
9. ‘Wordsworth aNameIthinkknowntoMr.Ford... ’.William WordsworthbyRobertHancock,black,red,andbrownchalk andpencil,1798.©NationalPortraitGallery,London.256
Abbreviations AccountWilliamFrend, AnAccountoftheProceedingsintheUniversityof CambridgeagainstWilliamFrend,M.A. (Cambridge,1793).
A–SDep.Abinger–Shelleypapers,intheBodleianLibrary.
BL S.T.Coleridge, BiographiaLiteraria,ed.J.Engelland W.JacksonBate, CC,vii.(2vols;Princeton,NJ,1983).
Bod.BodleianLibrary,Oxford.
BULBristolUniversityLibrary.
ButlerWilliamWordsworth, ‘TheRuinedCottage’ and ‘ThePedlar’,ed. J.Butler(CornellWordsworthSeries;Ithaca,NY,1979).
BV JonathanWordsworth, TheBordersofVision (Oxford,1982).
BWSBicentenaryWordsworthStudies,ed.JonathanWordsworth (IthacaandLondon,1970).
CCCollectedColeridge (BollingenSeries75;Princeton,NJ, 1969–2002).
CLTheCollectedLettersofSamuelTaylorColeridge,ed.E.L.Griggs (6vols;Oxford,1956–71).
CPW S.T.Coleridge, PoeticalWorks,ed.J.C.C.Mays, CC,xvi. (3volsin6;Princeton,NJ,2001).
CULCambridgeUniversityLibrary.
Curry NewLettersofRobertSouthey,ed.K.Curry(2vols;NewYorkand London,1965).
DCDoveCottage.
ET S.T.Coleridge, EssaysonhisTimes,ed.D.V.Erdman, CC,iii. (3vols;Princeton,NJ,1978).
EYTheLettersofWilliamandDorothyWordsworth,ed.E.de Selincourt,2ndedn, TheEarlyYears,1787–1805,rev. C.L.Shaver(Oxford,1967).
Friend S.T.Coleridge, TheFriend,ed.B.Rooke, CC,iv.(2vols; Princeton,NJ,1969).
GDTheDiaryofWilliamGodwin,eds.VictoriaMyers,DavidO’ Shaughnessy,andMarkPhilp(OxfordDigitalLibrary,2010), onlineathttp://godwindiary.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/index2.html Referenceswillgiveanelectroniclinktotheentryquoted orcited.
GillWilliamWordsworth, TheSalisburyPlainPoems,ed.S.Gill (CornellWordsworthSeries;Ithaca,NY,1975).
GoodwinA.Goodwin, TheFriendsofLiberty:TheEnglishDemocratic ReformMovementintheAgeoftheFrenchRevolution (London, 1979).
GunningHenryGunning, ReminiscencesoftheUniversity,Townand CountyofCambridge,fromtheYear1780 (2vols;London,1854).
HOHomeOffice filesatthePublicRecordOffice,London.
Howe TheCompleteWorksofWilliamHazlitt,ed.P.P.Howe(21vols; London,1930–4).
ITT JennyUglow, IntheseTimes:LivinginBritainthroughNapoleon’ s Wars,1793–1815 (London,2014).
L–BDep.Lovelace–Byronpapers,intheBodleianLibrary.
LD JamesLosh’sMSDiary,atTullieHouseLibrary,Carlisle.
Lects1795 S.T.Coleridge, Lectures1795onPoliticsandReligion,ed. L.PattonandP.Mann, CC,i.(Princeton,NJ,1971).
Lefebvre,i,iiG.Lefebvre, TheFrenchRevolution,i. FromitsOriginsto1793, trans.E.M.Evanson(LondonandNewYork,1962);ii. From 1793to1799,trans.J.S.HallandJ.Friguglietti(Londonand NewYork,1964).
Marrs TheLettersofCharlesandMaryAnneLamb,ed.E.W.Marrs,Jr. (3vols;Ithaca,NY,1975–8).
MH JonathanWordsworth, TheMusicofHumanity (London,1969). MoniteurRéimpressiondel’AncienMoniteurdepuislaRéuniondesÉtatsGénérauxjusqu’auConsulat(Mai1789–Novembre1799) (31vols;Paris,1840–7).
MoormanMaryMoorman, WilliamWordsworth,ABiography:TheEarly Years,1770–1803 (Oxford,1957).
MWC E.P.Thompson, TheMakingoftheEnglishWorkingClass (Harmondsworth,1968).
N&QNotes&Queries. OsbornWilliamWordsworth, TheBorderers,ed.R.Osborn(Cornell WordsworthSeries;Ithaca,NY,1982).
P&U WilliamFrend, PeaceandUnion,RecommendedtotheAssociated BodiesofRepublicansandAnti-Republicans (StIves,1793).
ParlHistCobbett’sParliamentaryHistoryofEngland.FromtheNorman Conquest,in1066,totheYear,1803 (36vols;London, 1806–20).
PJ WilliamGodwin, PoliticalJustice (2vols;London,1793).
PMLAPublicationsoftheModernLanguageAssociationofAmerica. PrWTheProseWorksofWilliamWordsworth,ed.W.J.B.Owen andJ.W.Smyser(3vols;Oxford,1974).
PV MSminutesof LesAmisdelaConstitution atBlois,Procès VerbauxdesSociétésPopulaires,BibliothèqueMuncipalede Blois,France.
PWThePoeticalWorksofWilliamWordsworth,ed.E.deSelincourt andH.Darbishire(5vols;Oxford,1940–9).
R EdmundBurke, ReflectionsontheRevolutioninFrance,andonthe ProceedingsinCertainSocietiesinLondonRelativetothatEvent, ed.C.C.O’Brien(Harmondsworth,1968).
ReedM.L.Reed, Wordsworth:TheChronologyoftheEarlyYears, 1770–1799 (Cambridge,MA,1967).
RM,i.ii.ThomasPaine, TheRightsofMan,PartOneandPartTwo,ed. H.Collins(Harmondsworth,1969).
Sequel WilliamFrend, ASequeltotheAccountoftheProceedingsinthe UniversityofCambridge (London,1795).
StateTrialsCobbett’sCompleteCollectionofStateTrials...fromtheEarliest PeriodtothePresentTime (33vols;London,1809–28).
Thale SelectionsfromthePapersoftheLondonCorrespondingSociety, 1792–1799,ed.M.Thale(Cambridge,1983).
TLSTimesLiterarySupplement Tribune JohnThelwall, TheTribune (3vols;London,1795–6).
TSTreasurySolicitor filesatthePublicRecordOffice,London.
TWCTheWordsworthCircle. Watchman S.T.Coleridge, TheWatchman,ed.L.Patton, CC,ii. (Princeton,NJ,1970).
Anoteontexts Unlessindicatedotherwise,quotationsfromWordsworth’ spoetryare from WilliamWordsworth,ed.StephenGill,21st-CenturyOxford AuthorsSeries(Oxford,2010);quotationsfromthe1799and1805 versionsof ThePrelude aredesignatedthus.Quotationsfromthe1850 versionof ThePrelude arefrom ThePrelude,1799,1805,1850,ed. J.Wordsworth,M.H.Abrams,andS.Gill(NewYork,1979),and designated1850.
QuotationsfromColeridge’spoetryandplaysarefromthereadingtexts in PoeticalWorks,ed.J.C.C.Mays(6vols;Princeton,NJ,2001),unless indicatedotherwise.
QuotationsfromChaucer’spoetryarefrom TheCompleteWorksof GeoffreyChaucer,ed.F.N.Robinson(2ndedn;Oxford,1974);quotationsfromMiltonarefrom ParadiseLost,ed.A.Fowler(London,1968) and CompleteShorterPoems,ed.J.Carey(London,1968);quotations fromShakespearearefrom CompleteWorks,ed.P.Alexander(Londonand Glasgow,1951);quotationsfromSpenserarefrom PoeticalWorks,ed. J.C.SmithandE.deSelincourt(Oxford,1970). Throughoutthisbooksquarebracketsareeditorial.
NewIntroduction When WordsworthandColeridge.TheRadicalYears waswrittentherewere noelectronicresearchresources,nolaptopcomputers,andnoe-mail. Accessinglibrariesandarchivesentailedcorrespondencewithspecialist librarians oftenamatterofweeks followedbyon-sitesearchesinpage orcardcatalogues.Muchofmymaterialcamefromholdingsinthe BodleianLibraryandtheBritishLibrary,andfromtheoldPublicRecord OfficeatChanceryLane.IalsodrewonJacobinSocietyrecordsheldat Blois.ForColeridge,Itracedmaterialsacrossnetworksthatconnectedthe nationwidecultureofdissent networksthatinthemid-1790sthepoet navigatedwithparticulardexterity,ashis Watchman tourinthenorthof Englandshowsus.
MyaimwastoaskandanswerquestionsaboutWordsworth’sand Coleridge’scareersinthe1790s,andtotracetheirinvolvementinEnglish radicalandreformistgroups.Therewerebook-lengthstudiesofthe RomanticpoetsandpoliticsbyCraneBrinton(1926),DavidErdman (1954),F.M.Todd(1957),CarlWoodring(1961,1970),andLeslie Chard(1972),butalmostnothingabouttheirpossibleconnectionswith the1790sreformmovementembodiedbytheSocietyforConstitutional Information(SCI)andtheLondonCorrespondingSociety(LCS).That the firstgenerationofEnglishRomanticpoetswasenthusiasticaboutthe FrenchRevolutionwaslargelytakenforgranted, althoughE.P.Thompson’ s MakingoftheEnglishWorkingClass (1963)and ‘Disenchantmentor Default?ALaySermon’ (1969),alongsideKelvinEverest’ s Coleridge’sSecret Ministry:TheContextoftheConversationPoems1795–1798 (1979),signalled thatmoremightbedonetoplaceWordsworthandColeridgeamong democratic ‘oppositionists’ oftheday.
Severalneweditionswerecrucialtomywork,principallyStephenGill’ s SalisburyPlainPoemsofWilliamWordsworth intheCornellWordsworth Series(1975)and,intheBollingenCollectedColeridgeSeries, The Watchman editedbyLewisPatton(1970),and Lectures1795onPolitics andReligion editedbyLewisPattonandPeterMann(1971).Twothenrecentbookswereparticularlyinspiring:AlbertGoodwin’ s TheFriendsof Liberty:TheEnglishDemocraticMovementintheAgeoftheFrench
Revolution (1979)andMaryThale’ s SelectionsfromthePapersofthe LondonCorrespondingSociety,1792–1799 (1983).TracingtheEnglish democraticmovementfromthemid-eighteenthcenturyto1799,Goodwin’ s bookdrewinprovincialcentresofradicalismaswellasFrench,Irish,and Scottishdimensions;Thale’seditionoftheCorrespondingSocietypapers assembledminutesofmeetingsandspyreportsdocumentingtheorigin, progress,andsuppressionofthepopularreformmovement.Bothbooks becameconstantcompanions.Foldedinsidemycopyof TheFriendsof Liberty isaletterIreceivedfromGoodwin,speculatingonthewhereaboutsofJohnThelwall’slostpapersthatwere,andstillare,awaiting discovery.¹MycopyofMaryThale’ s Selections likewisepreservesaletter fromDavidErdmanabouttheAnglo-JacobinJohnOswaldand ‘The EnglishPress’ atParis,latertreatedatfulllengthinErdman’swonderful book CommercedesLumières:JohnOswaldandtheBritishinParis, 1790–1793 (1986).Awarethatin1792 ‘theBritishClubpeople’ at Paris ‘werespiedupon’,Erdmanexplainedthattheywere ‘reportedto beplanningapublishingcampaigntospreadDemocracy...Whatthey wereprintingwasJohnOswald’sReviewoftheBritishConstitution.And, probablythatearly,talkingatleastofFrenchandEnglishversionsofhis GovernmentofthePeople.’²The ‘BritishClubpeople’—thatis,The BritishClub,orSocietyoftheFriendsoftheRightsofMan metat White’sHotelinthecentreofParis,closetothePlacedesVictoires.Its membersincludedtheScotsphysicianWilliamMaxwell;theUnitarian printerJohnHurfordStone;LordEdwardFitzgerald,theIrishpatriot; FrancisTweddell,brotherofWordsworth’sfriendJohnTweddell;SampsonPerry,surgeonandeditorof TheArgus newspaper;theDella-Cruscan poetRobertMerry;thelawyerJohnFrost;andtheScottishpoet,pamphleteer,andpedestrian,JohnOswald.CharlotteSmith,HelenMaria Williams,andMaryWollstonecraftwerelinkedwiththeclub,whichwas awell-knowngatheringplaceforAnglo-JacobinsinParis.The firstmeetingtookplaceonSunday18November1792,fourdaysbeforetheproclamationoftheFrenchRepublic,whenWordsworthisknowntohavebeen inthecity.IfhewasnotatWhite’sHotelinperson,inErdman’sview,
¹IreconstructedthelikelycontentsofThelwall’slostpapersin ‘TheLivesofJohn Thelwall’ , JohnThelwall.RadicalRomanticandAcquittedFelon,ed.StevePoole(London, 2009),17–19.
²ErdmanreferstoOswald’stwopamphlets: ReviewoftheConstitutionofGreat-Britain (London,1791;3rdedn1792)and TheGovernmentofthePeople:Or,aSketchofa ConstitutionfortheUniversalCommonwealth (Paris,PrintedattheEnglishPress ...First YearoftheFrenchRepublic).Bothofthesescarcepamphletsarereproducedin Political Writingsofthe1790s,ed.GregClaeys(7vols;London,2002),iii.411–46;iv.95–124.
hewaspresent ‘inspirit’.³AsIsuggestinChapter3,Wordsworth’ s ‘high andlonely’ roomatParis, ‘neartheroof/OfalargeMansionorHotel’ (1805,x.57–8),wasalmostcertainlyatWhite’ s.
ThesewererestlesstimesinBritain,too,whenEdmundBurkethought that ‘[t]herewereJacobinSocietiesestablishedindifferentpartsofthis kingdom,correspondingwitheachother,andcombinedwiththeJacobin SocietiesofFrance,toleaguetogetherandoverturnalltheStatesof Europe’ . ⁴ WordsworthandColeridgewerefrequentlyincompanyor correspondencewiththemostcontroversialthinkersandactivistsin Paris,London,Bristol,andelsewhere.Iwantedto findoutwhetherthey couldhavebeenmorecloselyinvolved,althoughfewrecordshavesurvived.InWordsworth’scase,apartfromadozenlettersandthecryptically briefentriesinWilliamGodwin’sdiary,thereisscantevidenceforthe years1793to1795when,fromtimetotime,hewasinLondon.Asa result,his ‘Godwinianphase’ hadusuallybeenrecountedintermsofhis enthusiasmforthe ‘falsephilosophy’ of PoliticalJustice thatis,with hindsightratherthanthroughhislivedexperienceofanargumentative urbanworldinwhichGodwin’sbookwascirculated,read,discussed,and quarrelledabout.PerhapswecatchanechoofthosedisputesinHazlitt’ s memoryof ‘ametaphysicalargumentwithWordsworth,whileColeridge wasexplainingthedifferentnotesofthenightingaletohissister,inwhich weneitherofussucceededinmakingourselvesperfectlyclearand intelligible’ . ⁵
UniversityeducationputyoungintellectualslikeWordsworthand Coleridgeatadistancefromtradesmeninthepopularreformmovement, yettheymightstillhavevisiteddivisionsoftheLCSandlistenedto proceedings.TheiracquaintancesAnnaLetitiaBarbauld,GeorgeDyer, WilliamFrend,WilliamGodwin,ThomasHolcroft,JosephJohnson, JamesLosh,SamuelNicholson,MaryRobinson,CharlotteSmith,Robert Southey,JohnTweddell,FelixVaughan,JamesWatt,andHelenMaria Williamswereallassociatedwithintellectualandpopularreformistcircles inLondonandParisandso,perhaps,werethepoetsthemselves.Coleridge’sCambridgetutorWilliamFrendtookaleadingrole,appearingon 7December1795asaspeakeralongsideJohnThelwallatamassgathering
³SeeDavidV.Erdman, CommercedesLumières:JohnOswaldandtheBritishinParis, 1790–1793 (Columbia,MO,1986),226–8,305–7;seealsoRachelRogers, ‘White’sHotel: AJunctionofBritishRadicalCultureinEarly1790sParis’ , Caliban:FrenchJournalof EnglishStudies,33(2013),153–72.
⁴ EdmundBurkeintheHouseofCommons,Friday4March1793, TheTimes (5March1793).
⁵‘MyFirstAcquaintancewithPoets’,Howe,xvii.119.
