Which American author is known for 'Walden'?

Henry David Thoreau is the American author known for “Walden.” First published in 1854 as “Walden; or, Life in the Woods,” the book reflects on simple living, nature, work, self-reliance, and the pressures of modern society.

Thoreau spent two years, two months, and two days in a small cabin near Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts, beginning on July 4, 1845. The land belonged to his friend and mentor Ralph Waldo Emerson. Thoreau’s book reshapes that experience into a literary year organized around the seasons, combining memoir, philosophical reflection, natural observation, and social criticism.

A common mix-up is naming Emerson, who strongly influenced Thoreau and owned the land, as the author. Emerson was also a leading transcendentalist, but “Walden” belongs to Thoreau. The same period contributed to Thoreau’s ideas about civil disobedience, and the book later became an important influence on environmentalism and back-to-nature movements.