The Maine Woods

by Henry David Thoreau

One of Yankee’s most striking cover photos, for a 2015 travel feature called “Thoreau’s Maine,” looks over the bow of a canoe toward the Lower East Branch of the Penobscot River. Seeing it feels like being dropped into an adventure—and that’s the same feeling you get from reading The Maine Woods, the 1864 travelogue that inspired Yankee’s feature. In describing his Maine journeys, Thoreau brings you into the heart of a true wilderness, a place where you’re greeted not by any humans but by “the fine fantastic sprays of free and happy evergreen trees, waving one above another in their ancient home.”

—Jenn Johnson, Yankee senior managing editor

First published in 1864, The Maine Woods is a recounting of Thoreau's three trips to the woods of Maine. He observed nature, closely observing the rivers, lakes, and mountains in that area of the country. The third of Thoreau's excursions in the Maine woods was made very largely for the purpose of studying Indigenous People's life and character in the person of his guide. He had all his life been interested in the Indigenous People and the book contains many details including pages of language translations. 

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ SeaWolf Press
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 268 pages
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 15.2 ounces
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.67 x 9 inches

About Seawolf Press

Seawolf Press offers a curated collection of over 400 classic literary works, many featuring original illustrations and period-appropriate cover art. The collection highlights beloved New England authors such as Louisa May Alcott, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Edith Wharton, and Henry David Thoreau, alongside other literary greats.

Each book is thoughtfully reformatted to reflect the experience of reading a first or early edition. These are not photocopied reprints, but carefully designed editions that preserve the original text, illustrations, and often the artwork from the book’s initial release. Fonts are chosen to echo the typographic style used more than a century ago, creating an immersive, historically authentic reading experience.

Seawolf Press classics offer an affordable way to step back in time and enjoy these masterpieces as they were meant to be read.