Walden

Walden is one of the more famous transcendentalist tracts in modern American literature. First published in 1854, Walden is an account of Thoreau's famous experiment in solitude: spending over two years alone in a cabin near the wilderness. Walden is broken into sections that meditate on single themes: economy, reading, sounds, solitude, visitors, and so on. The style is complex, weaving back and forth between simple, home-spun prose and complex allegory, metaphor, and allusion. This makes Walden an interesting read because while it may seem accessible on the surface, it's a book that requires deep and repeated reading to fully appreciate its many complexities. Henry David Thoreau (died 1862) was one of the most distinguished authors of the Victorian age. Their work has endured across generations and continues to be read and studied worldwide. The nonfiction literature of previous centuries offers invaluable windows into the minds and preoccupations of earlier ages. Walden combines the personal and the universal in ways that continue to resonate with contemporary readers seeking to understand both history and human nature.