When young James Dixon, a local jack-of-all-trades�recently returned from the Battle of Waterloo, meets Dorothy Wordsworth, he quickly realizes he's�never met another woman like her. In her early thirties, Dorothy has�already lived a wildly unconventional life. And as her famous brother William�Wordsworth's�confidante and creative collaborator - considered by some in their circle to be the secret to his success�as a poet - she has carved�a seemingly idyllic existence�for herself, alongside�William and his wife, in England's Lake District.�One day, Dixon is approached by William to do some�handiwork around the Wordsworth estate. He quickly understands that his�real responsibility is to keep an eye on Dorothy. The unlikely pair of misfits soon form a sympathetic�bond, despite the chasm in social class between them, and Dixon becomes the quiet�witness to�everyday�life among Dorothy's glittering social circle, which includes literary legends Samuel Coleridge, Thomas de Quincy, and William Blake. Through the fictional James Dixon, we step inside the Wordsworth family, witnessing�their dramatic emotional and artistic struggles, hidden traumas,�private betrayals and triumphs. At�the same time, Winter slowly weaves a darker, complex 'undersong'�through the novel - that of a woman�determined, against all odds,�to exist on her own terms.
