Literary Landmarks Walking Tour

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By the mid-nineteenth century Boston had earned the nickname “The Athens of America” and indeed, Boston was the most important literary center in the United States and home to many of America's greatest writers.

This literary tour highlights the homes and haunts of such celebrated Victorians as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry David Thoreau, Louisa May Alcott, Henry James, Charles Dickens, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Individually, they were writers and poets without peer. Collectively, they made Boston the epicenter of American letters.

This confluence of great literary minds gave rise to the philosophical and spiritual movement of Transcendentalism. Many of the individuals featured on this tour were involved in utopian communities. Their ideas and experiences greatly influenced their writing.

What brick building went from being an apothecary's shop to the headquarters of literary Boston? What was the Saturday Club and where did they meet? Which building did Henry James once call an “honored haunt of all the most civilized”? For answers to these questions and more, join your guide for a stroll through the vibrant literary history of Victorian Boston!