In the course of some industrial history research it was quite a surprise to see the name of William Wordsworth listed among the shareholders of a south Wales iron company (1843). Here was the great romantic poet and critic of the industrial revolution investing in the development of a large works that was already scarring a once peaceful, sparsely populated valley. The initiative for the investment probably came from Philip Courtenay, Wordsworth's 'financial adviser' who was a prime mover in the development of the works. Nevertheless to survive the poet evidently had to generate income, in this case from the process of economic change that he was actively criticising.
Does the investment devalue some of his work, was he hypocritical or does it really matter?