Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
Author of Walden
About the Author
In September 1842, Nathaniel Hawthorne noted this social encounter in his journal: "Mr. Thorow dined with us yesterday. He is a singular character---a young man with much of wild original nature still remaining in him; and so far as he is sophisticated, it is in a way and method of his own. He is show more as ugly as sin, long-nosed, queer-mouthed, and with uncouth and somewhat rustic, although courteous manners, corresponding very well with such an exterior. But his ugliness is of an honest and agreeable fashion, and becomes him much better than beauty. On the whole, I find him a healthy and wholesome man to know." Most responses to Thoreau are as ambiguously respectful as was Hawthorne's. Thoreau was neither an easy person to like nor an easy writer to read. Thoreau described himself as a mystic, a Transcendentalist, and a natural philosopher. He is a writer of essays about nature---not of facts about it but of his ideals and emotions in its presence. His wish to understand nature led him to Walden Pond, where he lived from 1845 to 1847 in a cabin that he built. Though he was an educated man with a Harvard degree, fluent in ancient and modern German, he preferred to study nature by living "a life of simplicity, independence, magnanimity, and trust." Knowing this, we should beware of misreading the book that best reflected this great experience in Thoreau's life: Walden; or, Life in the Woods (1854). It is not a handbook of the simple life. Though there are elements in the book of a "whole-earth catalogue" mentality, to focus on the radical "economic" aspects of Thoreau's work is to miss much in the book. Nor is it an autobiography. The right way to read Walden is as a "transcendental" narrative prose poem, whose hero is a man named Henry, a modern Odysseus in search of a "true America." Thoreau left Walden Pond on September 6, 1846, exactly two years, two months, and two days after he had settled there. As he explained in the pages of Walden: "I left the woods for as good a reason as I went to live there. Perhaps it seemed to me that I had several more lives to live, and could not spare any more time for that one." Growth, change, and development were essential to his character. One should not overlook the significance of his selecting July 4 as the day for taking possession of his residence at Walden Pond, a day that celebrates the establishment of a new government whose highest ideal is individual freedom. In terms of Thoreau's redefinition of the nation-idea, "the only true America" is that place where one may grow wild according to one's nature, where one may "enjoy the land, but own it not." Thoreau believed that each person should live according to individual conscience, willing to oppose the majority if necessary. An early proponent of nonviolent resistance, he was jailed briefly for refusing to pay his poll tax to support the Mexican War and the slave system that had promoted that war. His essay "On Civil Disobedience" (1849), which came from this period of passive resistance, was acknowledged by Mahatma Gandhi (who read it in a South African jail) as the basis for his campaign to free India. Martin Luther King, Jr. later attributed to Thoreau and Gandhi the inspiration for his leadership in the civil rights movement in the United States. Thoreau contracted tuberculosis in 1835 and suffered from it sporadically afterwards. His health declined over three years with brief periods of remission, until he eventually became bedridden. Recognizing the terminal nature of his disease, Thoreau spent his last years revising and editing his unpublished works, particularly The Maine Woods and Excursions, and petitioning publishers to print revised editions of A Week and Walden. He died on May 6, 1862 at age 44. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Works by Henry David Thoreau
Walden / The Maine Woods / A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers / Civil Disobedience (1996) 47 copies
The Concord and the Merrimack; excerpts from A week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers (1954) 41 copies
Citizen Thoreau: Walden, Civil disobedience, Life without principle, Slavery in Massachusetts, A plea for Captain John… (1996) 33 copies
Civil Disobedience, Solitude and Life Without Principle (Literary Classics (Prometheus Books)) (2011) 25 copies
Henry David Thoreau, The Poet's Delay: A Collection of Poetry by America's Greatest Observer of Nature (1992) 23 copies
The Higher Law: Thoreau on Civil Disobedience and Reform (Writings of Henry D. Thoreau) (2004) 21 copies
Henry David Thoreau: Walden, The Maine Woods, Collected Essays and Poems: A Library of America College Edition (Library… (2007) — Author — 21 copies
The wind that blows is all that anybody knows;: The thoughts of Henry David Thoreau (A Stanyan book, 5) (1970) 20 copies
A Yearning Toward Wildness: Environmental Quotations from the Writings of Henry David Thoreau (1991) 18 copies
Early Spring in Massachusetts (The Writings of Henry David Thoreau: with Bibliographical Introductions and Full… (1893) 17 copies
The Complete Works of Henry David Thoreau: Canoeing in the Wilderness, Walden, Walking, Civil Disobedience and More (2012) 15 copies
Thoreau: Walden / The Maine Woods / A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers / Civil Disobedience (1997) 15 copies
In the Woods and Fields of Concord: Selections from the Journal of Henry David Thoreau (1982) 14 copies
The Correspondence of Henry D. Thoreau: Volume 1: 1834 - 1848 (Writings of Henry D. Thoreau) (2013) 14 copies
Resistance to Civil Government and Other Writings (Books That Changed the World Series) (2005) 13 copies
Of Woodland Pools, Spring-Holes and Ditches: Excerpts from the Journal of Henry David Thoreau (2010) 12 copies
Résister: à la tentation du laissez-faire, au réformisme et à l'esprit commercial des… (2011) 11 copies
Civil Disobedience; Walden (selections); The Death of Ivan Ilych (Great Books Foundation First Year Course, VIII) (1955) 11 copies
WALDEN - and Other Writings: Civil Disobedience; Slavery in Massachusetts; A Plea for Captain John Brown; Life Without… (2000) 11 copies
Grolier Classics: Robinson Crusoe, Walden, Mediations of Marcus Aurelius, Oedipus the King (1956) 10 copies
To Live Deliberately: Where I Lived, and What I Lived For (Obvious State Classics Collection) (2019) 9 copies
The Thoreau Log: A Documentary Life of Henry David Thoreau 1817-1862 (American Authors Log) (1992) 9 copies
Transcendentalism Collection: Thoreau’s Walden, Walking & Civil Disobedience, Emerson’s Self-Reliance,… (2020) 7 copies
The Writings of Henry David Thoreau: Journal, Volume 8: 1854. (Writings of Henry D. Thoreau) (2002) 7 copies
Guide to Cape Cod; based on Cape Cod 7 copies
The Essential Henry David Thoreau Collection: 4 Books in 1 | Walden | Civil Disobedience | A Week on the Concord and… (2021) 6 copies
Vom Wandern: [Was bedeutet das alles?] (Reclams Universal-Bibliothek) (German Edition) (2013) 6 copies
The Writings of Henry David Thoreau: Journal, Volume 7: 1853-1854 (Writings of Henry D. Thoreau) (2009) 5 copies
The Correspondence of Henry D. Thoreau: Volume 2: 1849-1856 (Writings of Henry D. Thoreau) (2018) 4 copies
Thoreau's complete works 4 copies
Denken mit Henry David Thoreau: Von Natur und Zivilisation, Einsamkeit und Freundschaft, Wissenschaft und Politik (2008) 4 copies
The Dream of the Toad 3 copies
The transmigration of the seven Brahmans; a translation from the Harivansa of Langlois (1932) 3 copies
Simplify: Selected Writings from Henry David Thoreau; Walden, Civil Disobedience, Life Without Principle, Reform and… (2010) 3 copies
The Library a Wilderness 3 copies
Poems of Nature 3 copies
Vita di uno scrittore 2 copies
Primavera 2 copies
The New Walden 2 copies
A Desobediência Civil Seguido de Walden. Rebeldes e Malditos. Convencional (Em Portuguese do Brasil) (2016) 2 copies
The First And Last Journeys Of Thoreau: Lately Discovered Among His Unpublished Journals And Manuscripts (2007) 2 copies
Selections from Thoreau 2 copies
L'esprit commercial des temps modernes et son influence sur le caractère politique, moral et littéraire d'une nation (2007) 2 copies
Walden (Writings of Henry D. Thoreau) 150th Anniversary e edition by Thoreau, Henry David (2004) Paperback (2004) 2 copies
Pensoj el Valdeno 2 copies
Cape Cod : volume II 2 copies
La d©♭sob©♭issance civile ; suivi de Visiteurs : propos sur un b© cheron canadien-fran©ʹais (1982) 2 copies
A desobediência civil 1 copy
Shoe-strings 1 copy
コッド岬 浜辺の散策 1 copy
Уолден или Жизнь в лесу 1 copy
Mosbindja Civile 1 copy
ソロー 博物誌 1 copy
Жизнь вне условий 1 copy
Walden 1 copy
Nature Walking 1 copy
Les forêts du Maine : Suivi de Une excursion au Wachusett et La succession des arbres en forêt (2018) 1 copy
La vida en los bosques 1 copy
Sobre la desobediencia civil. Walden y la vida en los bosques. Los últimos días de John Brown. Profesión de fe (2014) 1 copy
ヘンリー・ソロー全日記 1851年 1 copy
The Angle of Dazzle 1 copy
A Yankee in Canada, with Anti-slavery and reform papers. By Henry D. Thoreau. 1866 [Leather Bound] 1 copy
Walden, sau viața în pădure 1 copy
Walden and Civil Disobedience (Barnes & Noble Classics Series) [WALDEN & CIVIL DISOBEDIENC -OS] 1 copy
On the study of disobedience 1 copy
Week of the Concord 1 copy
DESOBEDIÊNCIA CIVIL (P10L37) 1 copy
Opere scelte 1 copy
L'esclavage au Massachusetts : Le journal Heald of Freedom ; Wensell Philips au lycéum de Concord (2018) 1 copy
Spring 1 copy
The Maine Woods and Walden 1 copy
THOREAU - Four Writings 1 copy
American writers series 1 copy
Gens de Concord 1 copy
Camping in the Maine woods 1 copy
Walden ; Sartor Resartus 1 copy
Walden, or Life inthe woods 1 copy
Thoreau Tolstoy 1 copy
Desobeir 1 copy
Days of Civil Disobedience DESK CALENDAR 1970 / 2015 (with photos of civil disobedience) (1970) 1 copy
Życie bez zasad : eseje 1 copy
Cape Cod, vol. 1 1 copy
Some unpublished letters of Henry D. and Sophia E. Thoreau; a chapter in the history of a still-born book .. (2007) 1 copy
Days of Civil Disobedience: Henry David Thoreau's Essay on the Duty of Civil Disobedience with Photographs of… (1970) 1 copy
An Ideal 1 copy
Selected writings 1 copy
No title 1 copy
Thoreau's Journals — Author — 1 copy
A Walk to Land's End 1 copy
The Complete Works of Henry David Thoreau (9 Complete Works of Henry David Thoreau Including Cape Cod, Excursions, On… (2015) 1 copy
Friendship, Love & Marriage By Henry D. Thoreau and a Little Journey to Henry D. (1923) — Contributor — 1 copy
Henry David Thoreau Collection: Walden, On the Duty of Civil Disobedience, A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers,… (2021) 1 copy
Coratge cívic 1 copy
The Maine Woods (1864) 1 copy
Thoreau’s Journals 1 copy
The Walk to Land's End 1 copy
Woodshed 1 copy
Summer (misfiled) 1 copy
“Sic Vita” 1 copy
The writings of Henry David Thoreau ; with bibliographical introductions and full indexes Volume 10 1 copy
Kring Bellman 1 copy
Still Deep & Sweet 1 copy
The Chronicles of the Cid 1 copy
Collected Works of Henry David Thoreau (Illustrated): Philosophical and Autobiographical Books, Essays, Poetry,… (2017) 1 copy
Survey of a Swamp 1 copy
On Water 1 copy
A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers: The Writings of Henry David Thoreau with Bibliographical Introductions and… (1906) 1 copy
Henry David Thoreau Collection: Walden, On the Duty of Civil Disobedience, Walking, and Cape Cod (2020) 1 copy
Περπατώντας 1 copy
Succession of forest trees 1 copy
A wood fire from Walden 1 copy
نافرمانی مدنی 1 copy
A Tribute to John Brown 1 copy
Reform and the Reformers 1 copy
Thomas Carlyle and His Works 1 copy
On Land 1 copy
A Vida nos Bosques 1 copy
Associated Works
The Best Poems of the English Language: From Chaucer Through Robert Frost (2004) — Contributor — 1,046 copies
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A Patriot's Handbook: Songs, Poems, Stories and Speeches Celebrating the Land We Love (2003) — some editions — 490 copies
The Heath Anthology of American Literature, Volume 1 (1990) — Contributor, some editions — 255 copies
The Graphic Canon, Vol. 2: From "Kubla Khan" to the Bronte Sisters to The Picture of Dorian Gray (2012) — Contributor — 185 copies
American Antislavery Writings: Colonial Beginnings to Emancipation (2012) — Contributor — 122 copies
Writing New York: A Literary Anthology (Expanded 10th-Anniversary Edition) (2008) — Contributor — 93 copies
The Glorious American Essay: One Hundred Essays from Colonial Times to the Present (2020) — Contributor — 83 copies
Out of the Best Books: An Anthology of Literature, Vol. 2: Love, Marriage, and the Family (1966) — Contributor — 39 copies
Out of the Best Books: An Anthology of Literature, Vol. 5: Community Responsibility (1969) — Contributor — 30 copies
American Literature: The Makers and the Making (In Two Volumes) (1973) — Contributor, some editions — 25 copies
A Reader for Writers — Contributor — 2 copies
Ode to Boy: Vol. 2: An Anthology of Same-Sex Attraction in Literature from the 19th Century Through the First World War (2014) — Contributor — 2 copies
90 Masterpieces You Must Read (Vol.1): Novels, Poetry, Plays, Short Stories, Essays, Psychology & Philosophy (2020) — Contributor — 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Thoreau, David Henry
- Birthdate
- 1817-07-12
- Date of death
- 1862-04-06
- Burial location
- Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Concord, Massachusetts, USA
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Concord, Massachusetts, USA
- Place of death
- Concord, Massachusetts, USA
- Places of residence
- Concord, Massachusetts, USA
New York, New York, USA - Education
- Harvard College (AB|1837)
- Occupations
- teacher
writer
essayist
poet
philosopher
inventor (show all 7)
pencil maker - Relationships
- Emerson, Ralph Waldo (friend)
Alcott, Louisa May (student)
Fuller, Margaret (friend)
Jackson, Lidian (friend) - Organizations
- Underground Railroad
Huckleberry Party
Transcendentalism - Short biography
- Henry David Thoreau (July 12, 1817 – May 6, 1862) was an American essayist, poet, and philosopher. A leading transcendentalist, he is best known for his book Walden, a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings, and his essay "Civil Disobedience" (originally published as "Resistance to Civil Government"), an argument for disobedience to an unjust state.
Thoreau's books, articles, essays, journals, and poetry amount to more than 20 volumes. Among his lasting contributions are his writings on natural history and philosophy, in which he anticipated the methods and findings of ecology and environmental history, two sources of modern-day environmentalism. His literary style interweaves close observation of nature, personal experience, pointed rhetoric, symbolic meanings, and historical lore, while displaying a poetic sensibility, philosophical austerity, and attention to practical detail. He was also deeply interested in the idea of survival in the face of hostile elements, historical change, and natural decay; at the same time he advocated abandoning waste and illusion in order to discover life's true essential needs.
He was a lifelong abolitionist, delivering lectures that attacked the Fugitive Slave Law while praising the writings of Wendell Phillips and defending the abolitionist John Brown. Thoreau's philosophy of civil disobedience later influenced the political thoughts and actions of such notable figures as Leo Tolstoy, Mahatma Gandhi, and Martin Luther King Jr.
Thoreau is sometimes referred to as an anarchist. Though "Civil Disobedience" seems to call for improving rather than abolishing government—"I ask for, not at once no government, but at once a better government"—the direction of this improvement contrarily points toward anarchism: "'That government is best which governs not at all;' and when men are prepared for it, that will be the kind of government which they will have."
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