Williamsburg Regional Library

Three roads back, how Emerson, Thoreau, and William James responded to the greatest losses of their lives, Robert D. Richardson ; with a foreword by Megan Marshall

eng

Includes bibliographical references (pages 99-104) and index

collective biography

index present

non fiction

Three roads back

bibliography

1313903638

Robert D. Richardson ; with a foreword by Megan Marshall

how Emerson, Thoreau, and William James responded to the greatest losses of their lives

Three Roads Back tells the connected stories of how these foundational American writers and thinkers dealt with personal tragedies early in their careers. For Emerson, it was the death of his young wife and five-year-old son; for Thoreau, it was the death of his brother; and for James, it was the death of his beloved cousin Minnie Temple. Filled with biographical detail and passages from the journals and letters of Emerson, Thoreau, and James, these stories of loss and hard-fought resilience show how the writers<U+2019> responses to these deaths helped spur them on to their greatest work, influencing the birth and course of American literature and philosophy

Part 1. Emerson -- Building his own world -- I will be a naturalist -- The gallantry of the private heart -- The green world -- Regeneration through nature -- Part II. Thoreau -- The cup that my father gives me -- I had hoped to be spared this -- On every side is depth unfathomable -- Only nature has a right to grieve perpetually -- Death is the law of new life -- My friend is my real brother -- Emerson commissions a book review -- Our own limits transgressed -- Parts III. William James -- The death of Minny Temple -- Minny and Henry -- Minny and William -- From panic and despair to the acceptance of free will -- The self-governing resistance of the ego to the world

adult