1889 TALES OF A WAYSIDE INN HENRY W LONGFELLOW LEATHER!

TALES OF

A WAYSIDE INN

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow; 1889; Vol.IV Complete in Itself; Houghton, Mifflin and Company; Leather; 266 Pages; 5.3"x 8"; Rare!!!

Great for any Fan of the Legendary Poet, Canterbury Tales Type Fan or Collector.  Great Gift Idea!!!

Attributes:

A Charming, sleek marble cover design with dark purple leather binding and corners, gold borders to spine with labels and five raised bands, gold tops of pages, marble end pages, and a Great Poetic Classic!!!

Contents Included:

                       Finale

Summary:

Tales of a Wayside Inn is a collection of poems by American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

First published in 1863, the poems in the collection are told by a group of adults in the tavern of the Wayside Inn in Sudbury, Massachusetts. The poem's Prelude begins:

"One Autumn night, in Sudbury town,
Across the meadows bare and brown,
The windows of the wayside inn
Gleamed red with fire-light...".

The best known inclusion is "Paul Revere's Ride". It also includes "The Saga of King Olaf".  Longfellow originally intended to call the collection The Sudbury Tales, but was afraid it sounded too similar to Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales and renamed it Tales of a Wayside Inn.

The first printing of his Tales sold out in a single day, and curious literati flocked to the once great inn and tavern just to catch a glimpse of the poet's muse. For over 30 years the old Howe Tavern would subsist as a homestead and boarding house but simultaneously known as the place made famous by Longfellow. Years before the Inn's name was actually changed, people began referring to the old Howe property as Longfellow's Wayside Inn. While local apothecaries and general stores sold souvenirs bearing images of the veritable landmark with its new nickname, it wasn't until 1897 that the Inn's cultural and commercial relevance was fully recognized.

Background:

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American educator and poet whose works include "Paul Revere's Ride", The Song of Hiawatha, and "Evangeline". He was also the first American to translate Dante Alighieri's The Divine Comedy and was one of the five members of the group known as the Fireside Poets.

Longfellow was born in Portland, Maine, then part of Massachusetts, and studied at Bowdoin College. After spending time in Europe he became a professor at Bowdoin and, later, at Harvard College. His first major poetry collections were Voices of the Night (1839) and Ballads and Other Poems (1841). Longfellow retired from teaching in 1854 to focus on his writing, living the remainder of his life in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in a former headquarters of George Washington. His first wife, Mary Potter, died in 1835 after a miscarriage. His second wife, Frances Appleton, died in 1861 after sustaining burns from her dress catching fire. After her death, Longfellow had difficulty writing poetry for a time and focused on his translation. He died in 1882.

Condition:

Condition is Very Good.  Small wear to edges, pages are very good/excellent, hinges/text block are very good/excellent.  Overall, for 120 years old its in Very Good Condition!!!