Walden

Little treasures, the FLAME TREE COLLECTABLE CLASSICS are chosen to create a delightful and timeless home library. Each stunning, gift edition features deluxe cover treatments, ribbon markers, luxury endpapers and gilded edges. The unabridged text is accompanied by a Glossary of Victorian and Literary terms produced for the modern reader.

The inspiring and unique story of Walden by Henry David Thoreau reveals his experiences of living very simply in a cabin on the shores of Walden Pond, primarily to concentrate on his writing. By immersing himself in the calm simplicity of nature, Thoreau wanted to go on a spiritual journey and find independence and a greater sense of self. Thoreau has said: ‘I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.’

Henry David Thoreau (1817–62) was an American writer and philosopher, born in Massachusetts. He studied at Harvard and was known for having been a key voice in the Transcendentalism movement of writers and artists who believed in the innate morality of humanity. Throughout his career Thoreau wrote on the subjects of natural history, philosophy, environmentalism and nature. He delivered lectures aimed at ending slavery and his philosophy surrounding civil disobedience had a profound impact on the actions of political figures such as Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi long after his death in 1862.

Judith John (glossary) is a writer and editor specializing in literature and history. She has worked as an editor on major educational projects, including English A: Literature for the Pearson International Baccalaureate series. Judith’s major research interests include Romantic and Gothic literature, and Renaissance drama.