As with any challenging text, the experience of reading Pilgrimage can be enhanced through the use of other sources that throw light on critical and biographical aspects of the series and its author. And, to be honest, there are times when the swimming through Richardson’s prose can leave a reader desperate to find a raft upon which to rest and catch one’s breath. Even an expert like George H. Thomson, author of two authoritative guides, acknowledges, “The reader of Pilgrimage must from time to time need help. That is how I felt each time I read the text.”

This site includes excerpts or complete texts of numerous useful essays and articles under the On Pilgrimage and Dorothy Richardson categories, but the following books are recommended as more in-depth sources.

Cover of Dorothy Richardson: An Adventure in Self-Discovery by Horace Gregory
  • Dorothy Richardson: An Adventure in Self-Discovery, by Horace Gregory (1967)
    • Published to coincide with the publication of the first complete edition of Pilgrimage in 1967, this short book (114 pages) remains the best single introduction to both Richardson and her series. Gregory, an American poet and critic, visited Richardson and Alan Odle on at least one occasion and he is just the sort of enthusiastic, insightful, and empathetic guide that any author or reader could ask for. This, like all the other books in this list, is out of print, but used copies are relatively affordable and easy to find.
  • A Reader’s Guide to Dorothy Richardson’s Pilgrimage, by George H. Thomson (1996)
    • This and Thomson’s Notes are invaluable guides. In this volume, Thomson provides a synopsis of each chapter-volume as well as a more detailed chapter-by-chapter chronology, which is particularly useful for the not-infrequent flashbacks that Richardson throws at the reader without signage. There is also a list of characters in alphabetical order, as well as an annotated bibliography of additional sources (although this is now dated and not authoritative). This and Notes are almost impossible to find used copies of today: if you would like to see it, try an Inter Library Loan request. Academics may be able to access the book online via Project MUSE.
  • Notes on Pilgrimage: Dorothy Richardson Annotated, by George H. Thomson (1999)
    • This volume is essentially Thomson’s page-by-page footnotes to Pilgrimage and, in my opinion, far more valuable as an aid than his Reader’s Guide. He identifies historical figures, literary texts, musical pieces, and dozens of otherwise cryptic references that can trip up a reader. He also provides translations of most of the tidbits of foreign language that Richardson loved to use, particularly in Pointed Roofs. It will ultimately be replaced by the more comprehensive and authoritative annotations in the Oxford Edition volumes of Pilgrimage, but for the moment, Thomson provides a much-appreciated handrail to help the reader traverse the many difficult passages. This book is even scarcer than the Reader’s Guide, unfortunately, though it is also available online via Project MUSE.
  • Dorothy Richardson: A Biography, by Gloria G. Fromm (1977)
    • This is still the standard biography. Gloria Fromm was one of the first female scholars to take an interest in Richardson’s work, and she began her research early enough to be able to interview a number of Richardson’s family and acquaintances who were still alive in the 1960s. It includes most of the few extant photographs of Richardson and benefits from Fromm’s deep familiarity with Pilgrimage. Fromm strongly supports the view that Pilgrimage is fundamentally an autobiographical work. Though there have been no great treasure troves of Richardson-related material uncovered since the publication of Fromm’s book, there is a wealth of individual documents located in subsequent decades that lead one to hope that another authoritative biography will be undertaken before too long. Fromm later reconsidered some of her conclusions in an essay that can be found in British Novelists: 1890-1929, Modernists (1985). Used copies of Fromm’s biography are relatively affordable and easy to find.
  • Dorothy Richardson, The Genius They Forgot: A Critical Biography, by John Rosenberg (1973)
    • The first biography of Richardson, it has largely been superseded by Fromm’s book, and its only real advantage is brevity, being less than half as long.
  • Dorothy Richardson (Twayne’s English Authors series), by Thomas F. Staley (1976)
    • The first critical overview of Richardson’s life and work, it provides a solid introduction to major themes of Pilgrimage, though more detailed analyses are now available, particularly in Pilgrimages: The Journal of the Dorothy Richardson Society.
  • Dorothy Richardson (Writers and Their Work series), by Carol Watts (1995)
    • Somewhat the British counterpart to Staley’s book, coming from a series of introductory critical assessments of major writers. It benefits from the first wave of feminist scholarship on Richardson and includes two useful chapters dealing with Miriam’s recurring memories of the garden at her family home and on her life in London. It suffers, though, from now following the same sort of overview template as the Twayne’s series books.
  • Dorothy M. Richardson, by John Cowper Powys (1931)
    • This combines in book form two essays on Richardson that Powys published in The Adelphi magazine based on the first nine chapter-volumes of Pilgrimage. “Dorothy Richardson is our first pioneer in a completely new direction,” he writes. “What she has done has never been done before. She has drawn her inspiration neither from man-imitating cleverness nor from narcissistic feminine charm but from the abyss of the feminine subconscious.”  An early supporter of Richardson’s work, and Powys provided moral and financial support for years and the two corresponded regularly from the mid-1920s until Richardson’s death in 1955. You can find excerpts from the book in this article and you download a PDF of the book from this site (link).
  • Journey to Paradise: Short Stories and Autobiographical Sketches, by Dorothy Richardson, edited by Trudi Tate (1989)
    • Richardson’s short stories are illuminating but marginal and of largely incidental interest. However, every one of the autobiographical sketches offers a small but revealing glimpse of the writer who was remarkably reticent about her own life, considering the autobiographical nature of her magnum opus. The last I checked, the cheapest used copy of this was going for over $500, which is obscene. There are plenty of copies available through Inter Library Loan. Also, electronic versions are available on the Faded Page: Link.
  • Windows on Modernism: Selected Letters of Dorothy Richardson, edited by Gloria G. Fromm (1995)
    • At over 700 pages, this is the longest collection of Richardson’s writing after Pilgrimage, though it includes virtually no letters prior to 1916 due to their having been lost or destroyed. If there is one theme that remains consistent throughout the nearly 40 years of correspondence included here, it’s of Richardson’s long and often unsuccessful struggle to overcome both practical (money, lodging, chores, time, publishers’ support) and theoretical (prose style, structure, psychology) challenges to achieve her vision for Pilgrimage. And, sadly, it’s a story of a slow, frustrating grinding down of her energy to realize that vision. This book has, unfortunately, become something of an investment, with few available copies, and those starting at $100.