Henry David Thoreau (1817 - 1862) was an American poet, author, and transcendentalist who is best known for his book Walden; or, Life in the Woods (1854).

In Walden, Thoreau accounts for his two years spent in a little cabin near Walden Pond, where he lived a self-reliant, solitary, and contemplative existence in accord with nature and his soul. He went on walks, grew a fine neck beard, and wrote one of the cornerstones of transcendentalist literature. His work is a celebration of the unity of nature and an exploration of humanity and the divine - ideals which form the basis of transcendentalism. Transcendentalism is the movement that champions simplicity, solitude, and living in accord with nature. For literary reasons, Thoreau condensed his 26 months spent at Walden into one year, which began and ended in Spring. It took him seven years to complete, a time during which he assiduously honed and reworked his manuscript, which were based on his own journals.