Quest for Walden

Description:

Ever since Henry David Thoreau penned his masterpiece Walden - a chronicle of his two-year sojourn in the woods of Concord, Massachusetts - Americans have yearned for a return to pastoral life, to a place where the simplicities and beauty of nature dictate a quality of life not found in modern urban America. The metaphor of "Walden" inspired many to seek out and write about country life and the back-to-the-land movement in America. This is the first book-length study of that interesting genre, the country book written primarily for urban dwellers. It gives detailed content analyses of both country-life essays and guides to country living, from 1863 through 1995.

subjects: American Pastoral literature,  American prose literature,  Country life,  Country life in literature,  Historiography,  History and criticism,  Influence,  Natural history,  Nature in literature,  Pastoral literature, American,  Popular literature,  Influence (Literary, artistic, etc.),  Platteland,  Populaire literatuur,  Amerikaans,  Bibliografie,  Landleben (Motiv),  Landleben,  Literatur,  Rezeption,  Schäferroman,  Unterhaltungsliteratur,  Bibliographie,  Walden (Thoreau, Henry David)

People: Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)

Places: United States

Times: 19th century,  20th century