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The Concord Quartet: Alcott, Emerson, Hawthorne, Thoreau and the Friendship That Freed the American Mind
We will walk on our own feet;
we will work with our own hands;
we will speak our own minds.
--Ralph Waldo Emerson, "The American Scholar," 1837
From the start of transcendentalism and America's intellectual renaissance in the 1830s, to the Civil War and beyond, the story of four extraordinary friends whose lives shaped a nation
"Beginning in the 1830s, coincidences that seem a...more
we will work with our own hands;
we will speak our own minds.
--Ralph Waldo Emerson, "The American Scholar," 1837
From the start of transcendentalism and America's intellectual renaissance in the 1830s, to the Civil War and beyond, the story of four extraordinary friends whose lives shaped a nation
"Beginning in the 1830s, coincidences that seem a...more
Hardcover, 256 pages
Published
August 1st 2006
by Wiley
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Schreiner attempts to recapture a seminal moment in the history of American ideas. For a few decades in the nineteenth century, the intellectual and cultural center of fledgling United States was twenty miles outside Boston in the town of Concord, Massachusetts. Politically, the young nation was prodigious – putting into practice ideas only flirted with in Europe. But in terms of intellectual culture, America was generally regarded as a backwoods place in comparison to the capitals of Western Eu...more
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A book attempting to combine the biographies of the New England writers Emerson, Thoreau, Hawthorne, and Bronson Alcott is an ambitious undertaking involving penetrating research and a careful orgznization of the material. It's such a fascinating subject that one wonders why it hasn't been written before. Unfortunately, Schreiner manages to make it all uninteresting. It may be that it lacks a focus on some common thread other than the fact of their living in Concord by which to see these people...more
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Samuel Schreiner's The Concord Quartet is a brief portrait of the group of early 19th Century Transcendentalist writers and academics who called Concord, Massachusetts, home during the period of the "American Renaissance" in arts and letters. The book focuses on four major figures: Ralph Waldo Emerson, Amos Bronson Alcott, Henry David Thoreau, and Nathaniel Hawthorne. Schreiner weaves together the individual stories of these four friends and neighbors to produce an interesting look at the intell...more
I had great hopes for this book. Alas, I nearly set it aside several times. Schreiner had a wealth of information here (definitely did his research), but it bogged down his attempt to write it as a story, as opposed to a multi-person biography. I found myself losing interest much of the time and even *gasp* skipping ahead pages. American Bloomsbury is a far better read on this unforgettable group of American originals.
An interesting account of the confluence of four great thinkers and/or writers in one small Massachusetts town. (Note that the Alcott in the title is actually Bronson Alcott, not Louisa May.) Perhaps what I liked most about the book is how we come to realize that two great revolutions began in Concord: the first, of course, the American Revolution in 1775 with the "shot that heard round the world"; the second was a revolution of ideas with the rise of transcendentalism in the mid-nineteenth cent...more
The quick read gave a nice insight to the relationship between Bronson Alcott, Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Henry Thoreau and Concord. It was interesting to learn who their contemporaries were through their meetings and conversations. I was somewhat surprised to find how influential to their meetings certain women were. If you're interested in these gentlemen but their philosophy is too heady to begin with, begin by reading this book to get to know who they were.
5 stars for content. 4 for execution.
Excellent overview of Hawthorne, Emerson, Thoreau, and Alcott. A perfect read before visiting Concord.
This is a very short book, and it just give an overview of the men and time period for Transcendentalism.
I believe it serves its purpose and is well written.
I learned several things that I did not know before, and was able to read the book fairly quickly.
Enjoyable and informative.
I believe it serves its purpose and is well written.
I learned several things that I did not know before, and was able to read the book fairly quickly.
Enjoyable and informative.
A good quick history read...
Interesting book on the relationships of several luminaries of the mid-nineteenth century. I'm not totally sure that I would say that Hawthorne was much of a friend, but an acquaintance. Definitely worth a read if you are interested in transcendentalism or even the some of the history leading up to the civil war. These men were friends of presidents and wrote and spoke in a way that influenced many Americans.
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