What a marvelous job Susan Cheever does of unearthing all the interesting facts and juxtaposing them, so they tell the fascinating story of the American literary stars of mid 19th century Concord and how they intermingled and affected each other. Louisa May Alcott, Hawthorne, Emerson, Thoreau and Margaret Fuller were part of that explosion of ideas and an intellectual community which occurs every so often in history and bequeaths us such a rich literary heritage. I am itching to read again all those works, taking in the context of the real writers Cheever so masterfully describes.

The 1850s were heady times in Concord, Massachusetts: in a town where a woman's petticoat drying on an outdoor line was enough to elicit scandal, some of the greatest minds of our nation's history were gathering in three of its wooden houses to establish a major American literary movement. The Transcendentalists, as these thinkers came to be called, challenged the norms of American society with essays, novels, and treatises whose beautifully rendered prose and groundbreaking assertions still resonate with readers today. Though noted contemporary author Susan Cheever stands in awe of the monumental achievements of such writers as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, and Louisa May Alcott, her personal, evocative narrative removes these figures from their dusty pedestals and provides a lively account of their longings, jealousies, and indiscretions. Thus, Cheever reminds us that the passion of Concord's ambitious and temperamental resident geniuses was by no means confined to the page....

"A very charming book.... Affectionate [and] lively....[Cheever] does an admirable job of bringing these long-dead Transcendentalists and abolitionists back to vivid life."

-- USA Today

"With affection, Cheever captures heavyweight writers Louisa May Alcott, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Henry David Thoreau as they move in and out of each other's lives. Rich with charming anecdotes, the portrait is an undeniable winner."

-- Boston Magazine

"Literary history with a pinch of irreverent salt."

-- The Boston Globe

Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Distributor: Simon & Schuster
Publication Date: 09-18-2007
Pages: 240
Measurements: 9.200in X 6.200in X 0.600in X 10.01oz