Walden

Walden is a non-fiction account of Henry David Thoreau's two-year experiment living in a cabin he built near Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts. It details his experiences and reflections during that period.

Walden is often considered a companion piece to Thoreau's essay "Civil Disobedience," as both works explore themes of individualism, societal critique, and the importance of personal conscience, though through different lenses.

Walden is a widely studied text in American literature and philosophy courses, frequently appearing on high school and college syllabi due to its exploration of transcendentalism, environmentalism, and social critique.

Two years, two months, and two days — from July 4, 1845 to September 6, 1847 — in a small cabin he built himself on land owned by his friend Ralph Waldo Emerson. Walden compresses that stay into the narrative arc of a single year.

Yes. Walden Pond is a real glacial lake in Concord, Massachusetts, about two miles south of the town center. The site of Thoreau's cabin, on the pond's north shore, is marked today and sits within Walden Pond State Reservation.