Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

This 1902 biography of poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow draws information from three new historical sources: “First, much additional material is here drawn from the manuscript correspondence of the first Mrs. Longfellow, received from her family and bearing upon the poet’s early married years and first visit to Europe, during what was undoubtedly the formative period of his life. Secondly, there is a good deal of material obtained from the manuscript volumes known as the ‘Harvard College Papers’ and preserved at the University Library, elucidating the academical side of Longfellow’s life. Thirdly, there is a series of extracts from his earlier writings, dating from college days and not hitherto brought together, but showing the origin and growth of his lifelong desire to employ American material and to help the creation of a native literature; the desire which had its final fulfillment in ‘Evangeline’ and ‘Hiawatha.’”