Henry D. Thoreau

This is the first book length biography of Thoreau, written by one of his closest friends. Franklin Benjamin Sanborn graduated from Harvard in 1855 and settled in Concord as a schoolteacher, where his pupils included the children of Emerson, Hawthorne, and the elder Henry James. He was also a close friend of Thoreau and the Alcott family. Contents include: Childhood and Youth; Concord and Its Famous People; The Transcendental Period; Friends and Companions; The Walden Hermitage; Personal Traits and Social Life; Poet, Moralist, and Philosopher; and more. "Mr. Sanborn's book is thoroughly American and truly fascinating. Its literary skill is exceptionally good, and there is a racy flavor in its pages and an amount of exact knowledge of interesting people that one seldom meets with in current literature. Mr. Sanborn has done Thoreau's genius an imperishable service." -- American Church Review (New York) "Mr. Sanborn has written a careful book about a curious man, whom he has studied as impartially as possible; whom he admires warmly but with discretion; and the story of whose life he has told with commendable frankness and simplicity." -- New York Mail and Express "It is undoubtedly the best life of Thoreau extant." -- Christian Advocate (New York)