Journal

Abstract

This volume of Thoreau’s journal covers 1850 to 15 September 1851. Entries record walks and night excursions around Concord, changes in weather and seasons, flowering plants, birds and other animals, and encounters with farmers, labourers and neighbours. Reading notes and quotations, including passages from botanical writers and Darwin, alternate with reflections on friendship, religion, wildness, perception and the practice of writing. The volume also includes recollections of travel in Canada, a journey along the Massachusetts coast, and extended condemnation of the Fugitive Slave Law, the return of Sims to slavery, and the response of politicians and the press. – AI-generated abstract.