By the mid-nineteenth century Boston had earned the nickname The Athens of America and indeed, Boston was the most important literary center in the United States and home to many of America's greatest writers. This walking tour strolls through the vibrant literary history of Victorian Boston.

This literary tour highlights the homes and haunts of such great Victorians as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry David Thoreau, Louisa May Alcott, Henry James, Charles Dickens, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Individually, they were writers and poets without peer. Collectively, they made Boston the epicenter of American Letters.

photograph of Louisburg Square on Beacon Hill

S.P. Fuller 1826

William Dean Howells and Louisa May Alcott each for a time lived on Louisburg Square.

Beacon Hill's Louisburg Square. Photo by Tom Coppeto 2007.

This confluence of great literary minds gave rise to the philosophical and spiritual movement of Transcendentalism. Many individuals featured on this tour were involved in utopian communities. Their ideas and experiences greatly influenced their writing.

What brick building went from being an apothecary's shop to the headquarters of literary Boston? What was the Saturday Club and where did they meet? Which building was called by Henry James an “honored haunt of all the most civilized?” For answers to these questions and more, join your guide for a walking tour of literary Boston in the Victorian era.

Boston By Foot Brochure listing Boston tours in 2013 season Boston By Foot Guided Walking Tours For Boston By Foot Docents. Explore Boston on a Boston By Foot walking tour. The Dark Side of Boston.