Literary Sights

Emerson House

The Emerson House (28 Cambridge Turnpike, 978/369-2236, www.rwe.org/emersonhouse [1], 10 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Thurs.–Sat., 1–4:30 p.m. Sun. mid-Apr.–Oct., $7 adults, $5 seniors and students, free children under 7) remains furnished much as it was during his time—except for the furniture in his study (which is now in the museum across the street).

Orchard House

Other literary landmarks in the area include Orchard House (399 Lexington Rd., 978/369-4118, www.louisamayalcott.org [2], 10 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Mon.–Sat., 1–4:30 p.m. Sun. Apr.–Oct.; 11 a.m.–3 p.m. Mon.–Fri., 10 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Sat., 1–4:30 p.m. Sun. Nov.–Mar., $9 adults, $8 seniors and students, $5 children 6–17, free children under 6), where Louisa May Alcott penned Little Women. Fans of that book will swoon over the rooms, which contain original furniture owned by the family, including the writing desk made by Louisa’s father, Bronson.

The Wayside

Next door, The Wayside (455 Lexington Rd., 978/318-7826, www.nps.gov/archive/mima/wayside/index.htm [3]) was Alcott’s earlier home, where she and her sisters performed the childhood plays famously re-created in her book. It was also home in later years to novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne, whose study is largely intact.

The Old Manse

Several of the incestuous transcendentalists also inhabited The Old Manse (269 Monument St., 978/369-3909, www.thetrustees.org [4], 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Mon.–Fri., 12–5 p.m. Sun. mid-Apr.–Oct., 12–5 p.m. Sun. mid-Apr.–Oct., $8 adults, $7 seniors and students, $5 children 6–12, free children under 6), by the Old North Bridge. They include Emerson, Hawthorne, and Emerson’s grandfather, Rev. William Emerson, who witnessed the battle there.

Sleepy Hollow Cemetery

The final resting place of many of the Concord [5] authors can be found at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery (Bedford St., 978/318-3233, 7 a.m.–dusk daily), which contains the graves of Thoreau, Emerson, Hawthorne, and Alcott in an area poetically named Author’s Ridge.