UNDERSONG

A tender and thoughtful look at the life of Dorothy Wordsworth and the newly discovered writing from her later years.

Kathleen Winter was recently shown eleven shabby notebooks sealed in a UK vault and filled with the unpublished late-life writing of Dorothy Wordsworth (1771-1855), sister to the famous English poet laureate William. Intrigued, she undertook the transcription of these works for The Wordsworth Trust.

Long seen as second to William, Dorothy Wordsworth was arguably the inspired one, the seer whose vivid perception and electric life-force propelled William to fame. But she had a hidden life that included abandonment and extreme sensitivity, with calamitous consequences. Winter's novel explores Dorothy's secret life through the eyes of James Dixon, her family servant for decades. In the process, she rewrites the history of this magnificent, underappreciated artist and feminist force.

Winter's debut novel, Annabel, sold in 15 countries and was nominated for The Orange Prize (UK), The Scotiabank Giller Prize, The Governor General's Award and the Writer's Trust Prize, among others. Her inspirational travel memoir, Boundless, was nominated for the RBC Taylor Prize, the Hilary Westin Prize and the Mavis Gallant Prize. And her 2017 novel, Lost in September, was nominated for the Governor General's Literary Award and was a top book of that year. She is also the author of two lauded short story collections.