First published 2018
This scholarly collection presents 246 letters from Thoreau's most productive years as a writer. The correspondence reveals the behind-the-scenes story of publishing A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers and Walden, along with his famous essays "Civil Disobedience" and "Slavery in Massachusetts." Thoreau writes to publishers about his manuscripts, exchanges ideas with fellow abolitionists, and develops friendships with admirers like Daniel Ricketson, a wealthy Quaker who sought his guidance. The most compelling exchanges occur between Thoreau and Harrison Gray Otis Blake, a devoted follower who drew out the philosopher's deepest thoughts on ethics, nature, and human purpose. These letters capture Thoreau during his transformation from local eccentric to influential thinker, as he navigates the practical challenges of getting published while wrestling with the moral questions that would define his legacy. The collection includes 63 letters gathered for the first time, with 43 never before published, offering fresh insights into the mind that shaped American environmental and political thought.
Genres: biography, essays, literary-criticism, historical, 20th-century, american, 19th-century, american-history
Vibes: intimate, scholarly, thought-provoking
Tropes: epistolary, transformation
Setting: Concord, Merrimack Rivers
Period: 19th Century
720 pages · Kindle Edition · Princeton University Press