Walden : A Fully Annotated Edition

by Henry D. Thoreau; Edited by Jeffrey S. Cramer

• ISBN13: 9780300104660
• ISBN10: 0300104669
• Edition: Annotated
• Format: Trade Book
• Copyright: 2004-07-11
• Publisher: Yale University Press

Summary

Thoreau's literary classic, an elegantly written record of his experiment in simple living, has engaged readers and thinkers for a century and a half. This edition of Walden is the first to set forth an authoritative text with generous annotations. Thoreau scholar Jeffrey S. Cramer has meticulously corrected errors and omissions from previous editions of Walden and here provides illuminating notes on the biographical, historical, and geographical contexts of Thoreau's life. Cramer's newly edited text is based on the original 1854 edition of Walden, with emendations taken from Thoreau's draft manuscripts, his own markings on the page proofs, and notes in his personal copy of the book. In the editor's notes to the volume, Cramer quotes from sources Thoreau actually read, showing how he used, interpreted, and altered these sources. Cramer also glosses Walden with references to Thoreau's essays, journals, and correspondence. With the wealth of material in this edition, readers will find an unprecedented opportunity to immerse themselves in the unique and fascinating world of Thoreau. Anyone who has read and loved Walden will want to own and treasure this gift edition. Those wishing to read Walden for the first time will not find a better guide than Jeffrey S. Cramer.

Author Biography

Jeffrey S. Cramer is curator of collections, The Thoreau Institute at Walden Woods. He is the editor of Thoreau on Freedom: Attending to Man: Selected Writings of Henry David Thoreau.

Table of Contents

list of illustrations	ix
preface	xi
acknowledgments	xiii
introduction	xv
WALDEN
Economy	1	(77)
Where I Lived, and What I Lived For	78	(19)
Reading	97	(11)
Sounds	108	(17)
Solitude	125	(10)
Visitors	135	(15)
The Bean-Field	150	(12)
The Village	162	(6)
The Ponds	168	(26)
Baker Farm	194	(8)
Higher Laws	202	(12)
Brute Neighbors	214	(14)
House-Warming	228	(18)
Former Inhabitants; and Winter Visitors	246	(16)
Winter Animals	262	(11)
The Pond in Winter	273	(16)
Spring	289	(20)
Conclusion	309	(18)
bibliography	327	(18)
notes on the text
choice of copy text	335	(1)
textual notes and emendations	335	(6)
end-of-line hyphenation	341	(4)
index	345