The Concord Connection to the
American Literary Renaissance

Henry David Thoreau wrote Walden (1854), arguably the most widely-read book in the world, about his 2+ years as a resident by the quiet pond of the same name. After his arrest and night in jail for non-payment of taxes, his “Civil Disobedience” lecture proved inspirational to succeeding generations around the world, including Ghandi in India and Martin Luther King, Jr. here in the USA.

Ralph Waldo Emerson is most famous for writing Nature (1836), the book that became the Transcendentalist “Bible.” Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter (1850) was an instant best-seller and created the first major female character of strength and fortitude. Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women (1868) was one of the most popular novels of its day.

Join us for a visit to Concord, Massachusetts, and explore how it became the most famous literary town in America. There, in the mid 19th century, lived Thoreau, Emerson, Hawthorne, and Alcott, and just a few blocks from one another! These great New England writers were the primary movers of the American Literary Renaissance of the 19th century, making a distinctly American imprint on the literature of the world.

When Thoreau lived at Walden Pond, all three of the other writers were frequent guests. They breathed the same air, walked the same streets, wandered the same countryside, and were eventually buried within yards of each other in Concord’s Sleepy Hollow Cemetery.

Many of the homes in Concord that these authors lived in are still there.

Emerson and Hawthorne both lived in the Old Manse at different times (Hawthorne gave it the name), The Wayside was the only house Hawthorne ever owned and was the childhood home of the Alcott family. There is a replica of Thoreau’s 10x15 cabin at Walden Pond today.

This 90-minute presentation includes an original 30-minute Powerpoint on the history and the homes of these famous writers, followed by an explanation of how all four writers came to live in Concord, and there will be time for questions at the conclusion of the program.

Henry David Thoreau’s
New Jersey Connection

Henry David Thoreau became discouraged as a writer when neither of his published books sold very well. As a result, he turned to land surveying and lecturing to earn a few dollars.

Thoreau was a very meticulous person, and surveying suited him. Over the years, his reputation as an accurate surveyor grew and eventually overshadowed his reputation as a writer.

In the fall of 1856, Marcus Spring of Perth Amboy. New Jersey, hired Thoreau to come to the Garden State and survey his 260+ acre Eagleswood compound on the banks of the Raritan River.

Thoreau ended up spending a month in New Jersey. Not only did he do the survey – one of the largest he ever attempted by himself and the only one he performed outside of his native Massachusetts – but he also ended up delivering three lectures and met poet Walt Whitman, who would ultimately become one of three of Henry’s “heroes”.

This 60-minute lecture gives the history behind Thoreau’s writing, lecturing, and surveying careers – how they were intertwined, how they all began at Walden Pond, and how he came to be invited to do a survey almost 250 miles from his home. There will be time devoted to questions at the end.

Cost: $175.00

To book either of these lectures for your group or school, click on “Add to Cart”

To book either of these lectures for your group or school, click on “Add to Cart” buttons provided or click here for brochure with registration form, print and send along with your check made payable to: AcademicAdvantageNJ  P.O. Box 341 Stewartsville NJ 08886-0341

Educators can use Thoreau’s writings as an effective tool for better understanding a deep current in American culture. Thoreau’s principled, independent thinking articulates underlying values so important in a society that is often portrayed as too rushed, too aggressive and materialistic, and too divorced from the natural world.