Today, Americans may not remember “The Song of Hiawatha” or the “Midnight Ride of Paul Revere,” but back in the Victorian era, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was the literary equivalent of George Clooney—a poet who transcended his art to become a genuine celebrity.
Rangers lead tours of his former residence, Longfellow National Historic Site (105 Brattle St., Cambridge, 617/876-4491, www.nps.gov/long [1], 10:30 a.m.–4 p.m. Wed.–Sun. June–Oct., $3 adults, free children 15 and under), which features elegant Victorian furniture and the study where the poet composed many of his works. Other exhibits detail the home’s earlier history as headquarters to George Washington during the siege of Boston in 1775–1776.
Throughout the year, the Longfellow National Historic Site often offers performances of actors portraying other famous writers, including Walt Whitman and Louisa May Alcott. Longfellow devotees can see the poet’s final resting place a short walk away at Mount Auburn Cemetary (580 Mt. Auburn St., Cambridge, 617/547-7105, www.mountauburn.org [2], 8 a.m.–5 p.m. daily Oct.–Apr., 8 a.m.–7 p.m. daily May–Aug., free), a grand Victorian burial ground that also holds the graves of other Victorian intellectuals, such as Mary Baker Eddy, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Buckminster Fuller, and “Battle Hymn of the Republic” composer Julia Ward Howe.
Links:
[1] http://www.nps.gov/long
[2] http://www.mountauburn.org