''Outre-Mer: A Pilgrimage Beyond the Sea'' is a

prose Prose is language that follows the natural flow or rhythm of speech, ordinary grammatical structures, or, in writing, typical conventions and formatting. Thus, prose ranges from informal speaking to formal academic writing. Prose differs most n ...

collection by American poet

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include the poems " Paul Revere's Ride", '' The Song of Hiawatha'', and '' Evangeline''. He was the first American to comp ...

. It was the first major work by Longfellow and it was inspired by his travels in Europe as a young man. The term "outre-mer" is French for "overseas".

Overview

In preparation for his employment as a professor of language at his alma mater

Bowdoin College Bowdoin College ( ) is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. It was chartered in 1794. The main Bowdoin campus is located near Casco Bay and the Androscoggin River. In a ...

, Longfellow traveled to Europe. His stay there may have inspired ''Outre-Mer''. It is his first published literary work after previously publishing academic texts. After Longfellow received a professorship at

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

, he rented a room in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

from Elizabeth Craigie, the widow of

Andrew Craigie Andrew Craigie (1754–1819) is best known for serving as the first Apothecary General of the Continental Army during the American Revolution. The one-time owner of the Longfellow House–Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site, Craigi ...

, who had been the first Apothecary General of the United States, in the summer of 1837. Assuming the young-looking Longfellow was a student at neighboring Harvard, Mrs. Craigie refused to board him. Longfellow convinced her that he was a faculty member, and pointed out that he was the author of ''Outre-Mer'', which she had a copy of. The Craigie House is now the Longfellow House–Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site. When Longfellow first met his wife-to-be Fanny Appleton, she was traveling in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

in 1836 with her family, including her father the industrialist Nathan Appleton. After meeting Longfellow, she wrote in her journal that she hoped he would not "pop in on us" though, she admitted "I did like his Outre-Mer".

Publication history and reception

Longfellow, who was experimenting with prose writings, published the first parts of ''Outre-Mer'' in pamphlet form in the 1830s.

Harper & Brothers Harper is an American publishing house, the flagship Imprint (trade name), imprint of global publisher HarperCollins, based in New York City. Founded in New York in 1817 by James Harper (publisher), James Harper and his brother John, the compan ...

published the completed work in two volumes in 1835 without the author's name.Williams, Cecil B. ''Henry Wadsworth Longfellow''. New York: Twayne Publishers, Inc., 1964: 109. Longfellow traveled to Europe shortly afterward, and while in London had an English edition printed, credited only by "An American". The book was not particularly successful. The indifferent reception, as well as his duties as a Harvard professor, prevented Longfellow from producing significant literary works until 1838, with his poem " A Psalm of Life" and his novel '' Hyperion''. However, Longfellow's former

classmate

Nathaniel Hawthorne Nathaniel Hawthorne (né Hathorne; July 4, 1804 – May 19, 1864) was an American novelist and short story writer. His works often focus on history, morality, and religion. He was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, from a family long associat ...

enjoyed the work so much that it inspired him to rekindle their acquaintanceship. Hawthorne also offered Longfellow a copy of his recently published '' Twice-Told Tales''.Mellow, James R. ''Hawthorne in His Times''. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1980: 78–79. Longfellow would later work with publishers

Ticknor and Fields Ticknor and Fields was an American publishing company based in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded as a bookstore in 1832, the business published many 19th-century American authors, including Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry James, Henr ...

in Boston, which reissued ''Outre-Mer'' and most of his other early writings in the 1850s.

References

External links

1893 edition of ''Outre-Mer''
at

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{{Authority control 1835 books Harper & Brothers books Henry Wadsworth Longfellow