Walden; or, Life in the Woods is a book by Henry David Thoreau published in 1854. It describes the two years and two months he spent living in a small cabin he built himself by Walden Pond, near Concord, Massachusetts. Part memoir, part philosophy and part nature writing, it is a classic of simple living.
The experiment
On 4 July 1845, Thoreau moved into a cabin he had built by the pond. He grew beans, read, wrote and observed the seasons, the animals and the water.
He wanted, he wrote, to live deliberately and to see whether he could learn what life had to teach.
Economy
The long first chapter, Economy, lists the exact cost of his cabin and food, and criticizes the way people exhaust themselves to buy things they do not need.
Thoreau argues that a simpler life leaves more time for thought, reading, nature and freedom.
The seasons
The book compresses his stay into a single year, from summer to spring. Later chapters describe the pond in winter, the ice and the return of life.
Its precise observations of nature have made it a founding text of environmental writing.
Anecdotes
A night in jail
During his stay at Walden, Thoreau spent a night in jail for refusing to pay a tax, an experience he described in his essay Civil Disobedience.
Not so far from town
Walden Pond was less than three kilometres from Concord, and Thoreau often walked into town to visit family and friends.
Frequently asked questions
How long did Thoreau live at Walden?
Two years and two months, from 1845 to 1847.
When was the book published?
In 1854.
Where is Walden Pond?
Near Concord, Massachusetts.