boston literary tour

10 Literary Sites in Boston All Book-Lovers Should Visit

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• 10 Literary Sites in Boston All Book-Lovers Should Visit - April 18, 2023

Welcome to Boston , a city rich with writers, readers, and literary culture, both past and present. Whether you’re looking to find your next read, be inspired by some bookish sites, or learn more about Boston’s literary history, here’s a list of ten not-to-be-missed literary places to visit next time you’re in Boston .

Oh, and don’t miss out on these cozy coffee shops, cool breweries, or scrumptious restaurants while you’re visiting, either!

Table of Contents

Literary Sites in Boston

Boston public library.

The Boston Public Library was founded in 1848, the first large free municipal library in the country, and today it’s considered to be one of the largest municipal public library systems in America. Start your walkthrough of the space in the McKim Building (the older building facing Copley Square, built in 1895).

Head up the marble staircase, past the lions, to beautiful Bates Hall reading room, probably the BPL’s most iconic space. Stop into the room next door to see Arthurian legend murals by Edwin Austin Abbey; head upstairs to see a marvelously painted Biblical ceiling by John Singer Sargent.

Find your way through the shelves and hallways to the newer building, the Johnston Building. Built in 1972, the Johnston Building recently underwent a massive renovation, turning the once dark and dreary building into a bright space, with comfy chairs, meeting areas, a café, and a welcoming front lobby. Don’t forget to spend some time in the outdoor courtyard with your stack of books, sitting around the fountain.

Local Independent Bookstores

Independent bookstores are at the center of Boston’s literary scene simply by the culture and community they’ve created in the city. Each very different in their own way, you’ll find author readings, panel discussions, book clubs, one-of-a-kind literary events (Reader Prom, anyone?), and more.

Within the city proper you’ll find Trident Booksellers and Café and I AM Books (the nation’s only Italian-American bookstore), and Brattle Books and Commonwealth Books, both specializing in used and antiquarian stock.

A short T ride away you’ll find MIT Press Bookstore, Harvard Book Store, and Porter Square Books off the Red Line; off the Green Line you’ll find Brookline Booksmith and Newtonville Books; off the Orange Line you’ll find More Than Words and Papercuts JP. A car or car app can get you to a number more.

Do a bookstore crawl yourself to discover their unique atmospheres and offerings, and don’t forget to ask the booksellers for recommendations. Better yet, visit on the last Saturday of April and enjoy Metro Boston Bookstore Day!

Old Corner Bookstore

Unfortunately, the place known as the Old Corner Bookstore now houses a Chipotle (and it’s a bit of a sore spot for the local literary community). But as you’re lunching on your burrito bowl, know that you’re sitting inside one of Boston’s literary landmarks; the building that was once the hub of America’s literary society back in the 19th century. The building was built in 1718, but between 1845 and 1865 it was Ticknor & Fields, who published Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry David Thoreau, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and more. A

t a time when America was discovering its identity, Ticknor & Fields made sure that American authors assumed a place in the literary landscape. The authors of the time would socialize in the bookstore on the first floor, and so it was thus nicknamed “The Hub of the Hub.” 

Beacon Hill

Take a walk around Beacon Hill and discover the historic homes of a vast number of Boston authors. Start on Pickney Street, where at #20 Louisa May Alcott lived with her family as a young girl; she also lived at #43 and #81.

Across the street, Elizabeth Peabody, who owned a bookshop on West Street and would hold a literary salon, ran a school for children. A few doors down is #4 Pickney, where Henry David Thoreau once lived. Irish poet Louise Imogen Guiney, friends with literary socialite Annie Adams Fields and writer Sarah Orne Jewett, lived at #16.

Over on Mt. Vernon Street, you can find the former residence of Henry James, at #131. Poet Robert Frost lived at #88. And just up Willow Street lived Sylvia Plath at #9.

These are just a few of the many Boston authors who populated Beacon Hill over the years; if you’d like to learn more, or even trace their steps, there are many tour companies that host walking tours of historic Beacon Hill ( Boston By Foot being perhaps the most well-known).

If you don’t mind a little travel, check out this tour from Boston to Concord that takes you on a private tour of local literary history !

Brattle Book Shop and Bookstalls

The Brattle Book Shop outside bookstalls, surrounded by murals of authors and book covers, are easily one of the most Instagrammed literary sites in Boston.

The store, which specializes in used and antiquarian books, maps, prints, and ephemera, began back in 1825, originally located a few blocks away where the present Government Center complex is. The store has been in the Gloss family since 1949 when the current owner’s father bought the store.

After a 1980 fire burned the store to the ground, the people of Boston donated books to keep the store open. Today, the store is still going strong with three floors of books in which to get lost, and an outdoor sale lot with carts selling books for $1, $3, $5.

Take some time to look at the author murals upon the walls above the bookstalls. Curious to learn more about antiquarian books and their market? The owner Ken Gloss hosts a podcast called Brattlecast. 

Omni Parker House

The oldest continuously operating hotel in the country (and one of the top places to stay in Boston!) the Omni Parker House is the place where the original Boston Cream Pie was invented. Enjoy a slice inside knowing that this hotel was once the meeting place of a group of 19th-century writers called the Saturday Club. You can find a blown-up framed sketch of the authors’ table placement in the lobby (note Emerson, Longfellow, Hawthorne…).

The Atlantic Monthly was created at one of their meetings as well. Charles Dickens also read A Christmas Carol for the Saturday Club group before premiering it for Boston audiences; a frequenter of the hotel, you can find the “Dickens Door” in the lower level, which was preserved from the room he used to book when in town (look for the annual reading of A Christmas Carol here).

Malcolm X was once a busboy here, Mark Twain and Willa Cather spent time here, and even Edith Wharton set a scene of The Age of Innocence here.

Today, the hotel’s literary tradition lives on in the School Street Sessions, a take on the old Saturday Club, that meets for public lectures and discussions once a month.

Head to the corner of Charles and Boylston Streets, and you’ll be in the vicinity of the boarding house where Edgar Allan Poe was born in 1809. Though Poe was mostly known for being a Baltimore writer and not a Boston one, he spent some time in the city, including publishing his first poems there, including “The Tell-Tale Heart.” Yet Poe had a contentious (to say the least) relationship with Boston and its writers, famously sparring with Longfellow in print and calling the Boston writers “Frog Pondians.”

Still, since he was born here, on the bicentennial of his birth in 2009, Poe Square was dedicated. A statue of the author was unveiled in 2014. The area is a rather literary one as well, with Emerson College and GrubStreet writing center located on the same block.

Boston Athenaeum

Founded in 1807, this private library located behind a set of bright red doors is one of the oldest independent libraries in America. Once a literary hub frequented by Emerson, Hawthorne, Alcott, and others, the Athenaeum is still a vibrant community of patrons and researchers.

It is a member-only library and visitors only have access to the first floor, but here’s the work around: time your visit to their annual Fall Open House, where you can browse the floor-to-ceiling bookcases on the library’s five floors, climb metal spiral stairs to the catwalks, sit in lounge chairs and read while overlooking the Granary Burial Ground and Park Street Church, browse the art collections, visit part of George Washington’s library, and view their rare books collection.

Members enjoy research privileges, book groups, space access, and more, yet most author talks and literary events are open to the public.

The Printing Office of Edes & Gill

Back in Colonial Boston, the Printing Offices of Edes & Gill were the printers of the Boston Gazette, a newspaper that fueled the American Revolution, and Benjamin Edes himself was one of the Sons of Liberty. Edes & Gill was resurrected in 2010 by Gary Gregory, who bought a Colonial printing press and set up a living history printing shop.

Once located next to the Old North Church, Edes & Gill recently relocated to historic Faneuil Hall, where Gregory and his team of living history reenactors give demonstrations on how the printing press works, how to set type, what printing presses were functioning in 18th century America, and the role they played in the Colonies and the Revolution. They will even press out a fresh copy of the Declaration of Independence that you can purchase for $17.76 (get it?).

It’s a must visit while walking the Freedom Trail !

Boston Book Festival

Every October, Copley Square is taken over by the Boston Book Festival , a one-day gathering of authors and readers. The Boston Book Festival provides a full menu of programming, including author talks and panels on things like historical fiction and memoir, keynote speakers, writing workshops, business and craft sessions, literary games and contests, children’s authors and activities, and more.

They also promote One City One Story, where a story is chosen and copies are distributed around Boston, with the intention that the entire city will read a short story together; the author is then invited to a discussion at the Festival.

Additionally, there are dozens of local literary vendors set up in Copley Square – publishing houses, literary magazines, literacy centers – and one can browse while listening to live music from Berklee College musicians and snacking on items from the many food trucks. This massive event is free and open to the public.

Boston is home to so many fantastic historic sites, and if you’re a lover of literary history… Boston literary sites call to you!

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The Top Ten Literary Sites in Boston You Should Visit

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This post on literary sites in Boston is a guest article by Jessica A. Kent of Boston Book Blog.

Welcome to Boston, a city rich with writers, readers, and literary culture, both past and present. Whether you’re looking to find your next read, be inspired by some bookish sites, or want to learn more about Boston’s literary history, here’s a list of ten not-to-be-missed literary places to visit the next time you’re in Beantown.

Table of Contents

Boston Public Library

The Boston Public Library was founded in 1848, the first large free municipal library in the country, and today it’s considered to be one of the largest municipal public library systems in America. Start your walkthrough of the space in the McKim Building (the older building facing Copley Square, built in 1895). Head up the marble staircase, past the lions, to beautiful Bates Hall reading room, probably the BPL’s most iconic space. Stop into the room next door to see Arthurian legend murals by Edwin Austin Abbey; head upstairs to see a marvelously painted Biblical ceiling by John Singer Sargent.

Find your way through the shelves and hallways to the newer building, the Johnston Building. Built in 1972, the Johnston Building recently underwent a massive renovation, turning the once dark and dreary building into a bright space, with comfy chairs, meeting areas, a café, and a welcoming front lobby. Don’t forget to spend some time in the outdoor courtyard with your stack of books, sitting around the fountain.

Local Independent Bookstores

Independent bookstores are at the center of Boston’s literary scene simply by the culture and community they’ve created in the city. Each very different in their own way, you’ll find author readings, panel discussions, book clubs, one-of-a-kind literary events (Reader Prom, anyone?), and more. Within the city proper you’ll find Trident Booksellers and Café and I AM Books (the nation’s only Italian-American bookstore), and Brattle Books and Commonwealth Books, both specializing in used and antiquarian stock.

A short T ride away you’ll find MIT Press Bookstore, Harvard Book Store, and Porter Square Books off the Red Line; off the Green Line you’ll find Brookline Booksmith and Newtonville Books; off the Orange Line you’ll find More Than Words and Papercuts JP. A car or car app can get you to a number more. Do a bookstore crawl yourself to discover their unique atmospheres and offerings, and don’t forget to ask the booksellers for recommendations. Better yet, visit on the last Saturday of April and enjoy Metro Boston Bookstore Day!

Old Corner Bookstore

Unfortunately, the place known as the Old Corner Bookstore now houses a Chipotle (and it’s a bit of a sore spot for the local literary community). But as you’re lunching on your burrito bowl, know that you’re sitting inside one of Boston’s literary landmarks; the building that was once the hub of America’s literary society back in the 19th century. The building was built in 1718, but between 1845 and 1865 it was Ticknor & Fields, who published Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry David Thoreau, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and more. At a time when America was discovering its identity, Ticknor & Fields made sure that American authors assumed a place in the literary landscape. The authors of the time would socialize in the bookstore on the first floor, and so it was thus nicknamed “The Hub of the Hub.” 

Beacon Hill

Take a walk around Beacon Hill and discover the historic homes of a vast number of Boston authors. Start on Pickney Street, where at #20 Louisa May Alcott lived with her family as a young girl; she also lived at #43 and #81. Across the street, Elizabeth Peabody, who owned a bookshop on West Street and would hold a literary salon, ran a school for children. A few doors down is #4 Pickney, where Henry David Thoreau once lived. Irish poet Louise Imogen Guiney, friends with literary socialite Annie Adams Fields and writer Sarah Orne Jewett, lived at #16.

Over on Mt. Vernon Street you can find the former residence of Henry James, at #131. Poet Robert Frost lived at #88. And just up Willow Street lived Sylvia Plath at #9. These are just a few of the many authors who populated Beacon Hill over the years; if you’d like to learn more, or even trace their steps, there are many tour companies that host walking tours of historic Beacon Hill ( Boston By Foot being perhaps the most well-known).

Brattle Book Shop and Bookstalls

The Brattle Book Shop outside bookstalls, surrounded by murals of authors and book covers, are easily one of the most Instagrammed literary sites in Boston. But the store, which specializes in used and antiquarian books, maps, prints, and ephemera, began back in 1825, originally located a few blocks away where the present Government Center complex is. The store has been in the Gloss family since 1949 when the current owner’s father bought the store.

After a 1980 fire burned the store to the ground, the people of Boston donated books to keep the store open. Today, the store is still going strong with three floors of books in which to get lost, and an outdoor sale lot with carts selling books for $1, $3, $5. Take some time to look at the author murals upon the walls above the bookstalls. Curious to learn more about antiquarian books and their market? The owner Ken Gloss hosts a podcast called Brattlecast. 

Omni Parker House

The oldest continuously operating hotel in the country, the Omni Parker House is the place where the original Boston Cream Pie was invented. Enjoy a slice inside knowing that this hotel was once the meeting place of a group of 19th-century writers called the Saturday Club. You can find a blown-up framed sketch of the authors’ table placement in the lobby (note Emerson, Longfellow, Hawthorne…).

The Atlantic Monthly was created at one of their meetings as well. Charles Dickens also read A Christmas Carol for the Saturday Club group before premiering it for Boston audiences; a frequenter of the hotel, you can find the “Dickens Door” in the lower level, which was preserved from the room he used to book when in town (look for the annual reading of A Christmas Carol here). Malcolm X was once a busboy here, Mark Twain and Willa Cather spent time here, and even Edith Wharton set a scene of The Age of Innocence here.

Today, the hotel’s literary tradition lives on in the School Street Sessions, a take on the old Saturday Club, that meets for public lectures and discussions once a month.

Head to the corner of Charles and Boylston Streets, and you’ll be in the vicinity of the boarding house where Edgar Allan Poe was born in 1809. Though Poe was mostly known for being a Baltimore writer and not a Boston one, he spent some time in the city, including publishing his first poems there, including “The Tell-Tale Heart.” Yet Poe had a contentious (to say the least) relationship with Boston and its writers, famously sparring with Longfellow in print and calling the Boston writers “Frog Pondians.” Still, since he was born here, on the bicentennial of his birth in 2009, Poe Square was dedicated. A statue of the author was unveiled in 2014. The area is a rather literary one as well, with Emerson College and GrubStreet writing center located on the same block.

Boston Athenaeum

Founded in 1807, this private library located behind a set of bright red doors is one of the oldest independent libraries in America. Once a literary hub frequented by Emerson, Hawthorne, Alcott, and others, the Athenaeum is still a vibrant community of patrons and researchers. While it is a member-only library, and visitors only have access to the first floor, time your visit to their annual Fall Open House, where you can browse the floor-to-ceiling bookcases on the library’s five floors, climb metal spiral stairs to the catwalks, sit in lounge chairs and read while overlooking the Granary Burial Ground and Park Street Church, browse the art collections (the Athenaeum once had such an extensive art collection that they donated part of it to start the Museum of Fine Arts), visit part of George Washington’s library, or view their rare books collection. Members enjoy research privileges, book groups, space access, and more, yet most author talks and literary events are open to the public.

The Printing Office of Edes & Gill

Back in Colonial Boston, the Printing Offices of Edes & Gill were the printers of the Boston Gazette, a newspaper that fueled the American Revolution, and Benjamin Edes himself was one of the Sons of Liberty. Edes & Gill was resurrected in 2010 by Gary Gregory, who bought a Colonial printing press and set up a living history printing shop. Once located next to the Old North Church, Edes & Gill recently relocated to historic Faneuil Hall, where Gregory and his team of living history reenactors give demonstrations on how the printing press works, how to set type, what printing presses were functioning in 18th century America, and the role they played in the Colonies and the Revolution. They will even press out a fresh copy of the Declaration of Independence that you can purchase for $17.76 (get it?).

Boston Book Festival

Every October, Copley Square is taken over by the Boston Book Festival, a one-day gathering of authors and readers. Going into its eleventh year in 2019, the Festival provides a full menu of programming, including author talks and panels on things like historical fiction and memoir, keynote speakers, writing workshops, business and craft sessions, literary games and contests, children’s authors and activities, and more. They also promote One City One Story, where a story is chosen and copies are distributed around Boston, with the intention that the entire city will read a short story together; the author is then invited to a discussion at the Festival.

Additionally, there are dozens of local literary vendors set up in Copley Square – publishing houses, literary magazines, literacy centers – and one can browse while listening to live music from Berklee College musicians and snacking on items from the many food trucks. This massive event is free and open to the public.

About the Author: Jessica A. Kent is the founder and editor-in-chief of the Boston Book Blog , a website covering the Boston literary scene – both past and present – featuring local event listings, interviews, articles, literary history posts, and more. Follow the Boston Book Blog on Twitter or Instagram as well!

• Pet-Centric
• Washington DC
• Reflections

Exploring Boston’s Literary District

Exploring Boston’s Literary District was a dream come true when I returned to Boston for my “Now Vaccinated!” vaca from Washington DC. As an English major in college, I was always obsessed with 19th-century female novelists. They blazed the way for women to have careers in a time when most occupations were prohibited. And they permanently saved a record for the modern-day reader about their lives.

As a young girl, I must have read Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women about a dozen times. Their seemingly idyllic home kept the four sisters united through every trial—the Civil War, poverty, and finally sister Beth’s premature death. My whirlwind literary tour followed my trek on Boston’s Freedom Trail . So there wasn’t any question that I would explore Boston’s literary district by hunting down the Boston home of Louisa May Alcott . (I also saw the Bar Harbor home of mystery writer Mary Roberts Rinehart during my vacation in Maine.)

Table of Contents

Louisa May Alcott’s Home

My friend Irma agreed to a twilight walk in Beacon Hill, one of the most exclusive neighborhoods in Boston. Using my map, I was able to locate Alcott’s home at 10 Louisburg Square in the heart of Boston’s literary district. Now a private residence, the house can only be viewed standing on the sidewalk.

Alcott’s Greek Revival home was built in 1880. This dowager stands like an introvert on a leafy quiet square in Beacon Hill. It is just one of the jewels studding the necklace of Boston’s literary district.

I wish I could wander its hallways. I can imagine Alcott writing late into the night. She lived in this house for six years until she died in 1888. Sadly, her work as a nurse in the Civil War resulted in her early death due to the effects of mercury poisoning. She is considered one of the most successful female U.S. writers. Little Women has never been out of print. An estimated 1.8 million copies have been published since its debut in 1869.

“It is doubtful whether any novel has been more important to America’s female writers than Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women …” The New Yorker

Amos Branson Alcott’s Home

Reformer and educator Amos Branson Alcott was the father of Louisa May Alcott. In fact, just like in the novel Little Women , the Alcott family consisted of four daughters (Anna, Louisa, Elizabeth, and May). But Branson was an unreliable breadwinner who often had to beg friends for money. The Alcott family lived temporarily at 20 Pinckney Street until they were evicted.

While certainly not as famous as his daughter, Branson was one of the leaders of the Transcendentalist movement in the 1800s. He was one of the founders of Fruitlands, a Utopian society in Massachusetts.

Alcott’s temporary Boston home was located at 20 Pinckney Street. She lived here when she was 20 years old. Many fans make the pilgrimage to Beacon Hill to see the residences where their beloved childhood writer lived.

Just down the street, you can view the residence of Nathaniel Hawthorne, author of The Scarlet Letter and The House of Seven Gables, at 54 Pinckney Street. He resided at this house from January 1839 to October 1840.

Henry David Thoreau’s Home

Although we tend to think of Henry David Thoreau as the original poster child for the Back to Nature movement in the 19th century, he actually only lived on Walden Pond for one year. His family ran a successful business. He temporarily lived at 4 Pinckney Street. Thoreau was an iconoclast—abolitionist, naturalist, philosopher, and author. He wrote his essay “Civil Disobedience” while living at this Boston residence from 1821-1823. Seeing his home is also required when exploring Boston’s literary district.

Charles Sumner’s Childhood Home

Although most famous as the abolitionist U.S. senator representing Massachusetts in the 1850s, Charles Sumner was also a writer and lawyer. He was nearly killed by a fellow legislator on May 22, 1856. South Carolina Democratic congressman Preston Brooks attacked him in his office with a cane. His birthplace can be seen at Irving Street.

Robert Lowell’s Birthplace

Finally skip forward to the 20th century and you will find numerous poets, novelists, and YA writers also lived on Beacon Hill.

Lowell’s home is located at 91 Revere Street. He wrote Life Studies , a book of poetry. His Bostonian family could trace its origins back to the Mayflower. In “91 Revere Street,” a 40-page essay, Lowell focused on his troubled childhood and the struggles between his parents.

“It’s a challenge to read; your mind keeps asking: why, why, why, am I reading about Lowell’s tribulations in grade school.” The Poetry Foundation

Other 20th Century Writers’ Homes

Boston Magazine did a feature entitled “Five Famous Authors Who Lived in Beacon Hill.” As well as the authors listed in this article, BM’s list included Sylvia Plath (9 Willow Street) and Robert Frost (88 Mount Vernon Street).

“Bricks and cobblestones seem to inspire the pen.” Madeline Bilis

Plath resided in this apartment with her husband (poet Ted Hughes). It overlooks Acorn Street, considered one of Boston’s most quaint alleyways.

Beacon Hill Tour

Although I did not take the public tour of Beacon Hill, I can highly recommend a walking tour to learn more about this historic neighborhood. Boston by Foot offers a Hub of Literary America tour. Their guide Sally has been giving this tour since it was first introduced 30+ years ago. This tour explains Beacon Hill’s literary significance.

“Since Boston’s English Puritan founding in 1630, a heavy emphasis was placed on everyone learning to read and write, mainly so they could read the Bible. By about the mid-1800s, though, books had become part of the general culture, such that literature was no longer just religious writings and nonfiction, for example, histories and biographies. Literature was developing into what we know as a fine art. It culminated in Boston and on Beacon Hill through about 1890 due largely to the presence of those authors who would produce a golden age of American literature, led by the philosopher and intellectual Ralph Waldo Emerson. They were joined by men of business, like James T. Fields, who saw a bright future for American publishing, and, above all, by readers who were cultivated and highly appreciative of the writers and their writing,” she explained.

Boston by Foot also offers a Beacon Hill evening tour through its picturesque hilly streets. The tour highlights examples of early American architecture. Many homes were designed by architect Charles Bulfinch—“Experience Beacon Hill’s ornate past, from its rural beginnings to the vision of the Mount Vernon Proprietors, while walking among this historic collection of Federal and Greek Revival row houses.”

It is believed that Bulfinch designed at least three houses on Chestnut street at #13, #15 and #17. According to the plaque, Mrs. Hepsibah Swan, an original Mt. Vernon proprietor, had these homes built for her daughters before 1810.

African American Writers

I highly recommend the Boston Literary District website. It lists dozens of scribes who Boston can claim as their own as well as where readings, conferences, and other literary gatherings occur. Although the map of writers’ residences is currently malfunctioning, the website does list the home addresses to visit when exploring Boston’s literary district.

I highly recommend their current African American history tour. Famous Black writers include Lewis Hayden, William Cooper Nell, Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin, Susan Paul, Maria Stewart, and David Walker.

“You can take part in their remarkable stories by visiting Boston’s Black Heritage Trail®, as well as these sites in the Boston Literary District.” Boston Literary District

Something Splendid

There are so many prominent Boston citizens who have called Beacon Hill home but I was the most fascinated by its literary heroes. Exploring Boston’s literary district is a must for any English major. Imagine visiting a place where they slaved away in their upper-level bedroom or attic writing their masterpieces. I found it transcendent.

“I want to do something splendid . . . something heroic or wonderful that won’t be forgotten when I am dead.” Jo March (Little Women)

You succeeded Louisa May Alcott. Although you only wrote Little Women to help your family’s financial plight, you found a way to delight as well as “astonish you all someday.” Thank you.

My name is Terri Markle. I love to travel & blog about it. Please join me on my adventures.

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Wow, this is such a unique take on Boston! I didn’t know all these authors lived there.

Boston definitely had a lot of Romantic writers in the 19th century and modern day poets in the 20th century.

So interesting! The perfect thing to learn about for a book lover!

I agree. All book lovers will enjoy visiting Beacon Hill.

I love reading. This tour would be right up my alley. It gives me a thrill to see the home of someone I know of.

I am a confirmed bookworm so this kind of adventure is heaven for me!

Wow! Wonderful walk through Boston ‘s Literary District! I was happy to be there with you but it is just amazing to see it through your eyes!

I will always remember the fun of scooting up & down streets and alleys and byways trying to find these writers’ homes.

I absolutely love Louisa May Alcott’s home. This would be the perfect place to write 🙂 As I live in Berlin, I’m often walking by homes that once belonged to someone famous – they all have a golden plaque. It’s very inspiring to walk the same streets today, too.

Maria | SYDE Road

Hi Terri! This is such an amazing post and refreshing take on how to explore Boston. I really love your attention to detail and adding in additional extra facts about each of the writer’s and their history. Incredibly well researched and well thought out. Thank you for creating such a well made blog post!

I can’t thank you enough for your kind words. I really loved writing about this adventure. There are so many famous writers who lived in Beacon Hill. I can’t wait to return.

This is a great tour! I need to learn a lot because when I read this I thought ” Edgar Allan Poe” which was perhaps the only North American writer (along with Mark Twain) had free access to when I grew up. Boston looks lovely and I hope my next trip to the US will go a bit further than New York Coty and Long Island 🙂 . Bookmarked for future trip!

Omg this looks like such a fun trip, I love finding lil bookstores. I’d love to go sometime!!

The Beacon Hill neighborhood is gorgeous. And Boston has so many quaint bookstores.

what an interesting place to explore! 🙂 Some great information here.

Ohh, some of my favorite authors are on that list! I am definitely saving this for later.

The last time I was this geeked out was my trip to Shakespear’s hometown in the UK. I had no idea so many literary gems lived in Boston. Thanks for sharing this with us. Absolutely going to make sure I walk this path when I visit Boston next 🙂

Taking on touring Boston is a challenge because there is so much to see! Love that you broke it up into a bite-sized chunk!!! I’m a big reader myself so being able to see where someone like Louisa May Alcott grew up is amazing!

Reader's Guide to Boston

• Boston Public Library
• Local Libraries
• Nearby Bookstores
• Literary Sites in Boston
• Literary Day Trips
• Banned in Boston

Build Your Own Literary Walking Tour

Top recommendations.

• Louisa May Alcott - 20 Pinckney Street , 10 Louisburg Square
• Make Way for Ducklings  - Boston Public Garden
• Sylvia Plath - 9 Willow Street
• Khalil Gibran - 108 Mt Vernon St
• Museum of African American History - 46 Joy Street. Located near the historic home of William Cooper Nell.
• Henry David Thoreau - 4 Pinckney Street
• Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin - 103 Charles Street
• Nathaniel Hawthorne - 54 Pinckney Street
• John Updike - 151 Beacon Street
• Poe Returning to Boston - corner of Boylston and Charles Street

Build Your Tour Map

Use the map below to discover more literary locations across Boston including statues, historic homes of authors, and bars where literary figures passed time. 

For a comprehensive list of literary locations across Boston, use the Boston Literary District . The map feature is broken, but the listings underneath describe each location and provide additional information about the literary figures they represent.

• Boston Book Festival Annual festival with speakers, workshops, and events to celebrate reading and writing.
• Boston Art Book Fair Free, all-ages weekend celebrating art, text, and print. Exhibitors include museums, artists, zine authors, and more!
• CitySpace - WBUR Events WBUR hosts lots of author talks including by cookbook authors! There are also events that feature journalists and excellent journalism.
• GrubStreet Writing workshops and book release events in the Boston Seaport.
• << Previous: Nearby Bookstores
• Next: Literary Day Trips >>
• Last Updated: Jun 18, 2024 2:59 PM
• URL: https://library.bu.edu/readers_guide

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A Trip to Boston’s Literary District: Visiting Louisa May Alcott’s Beacon Hill Haunts

• August 2, 2021
• No comments
• 4 minute read

By Hannah White

Alcott has had a resurgence in popularity recently after the 2019 film adaptation of Little Women starring Saoirse Ronan, Florence Pugh, and Emma Watson–to name just some of the all-star cast–was released and received critical acclaim . After watching this film last year, I developed a newfound interest in the author’s life, because though it is considered a work of fiction, Little Women is categorized as heavily autobiographical with Josephine “Jo” March, the novel’s heroine, representing Alcott herself. 

The 2019 film focuses on the March sisters’ coming-of-age years. Jo, a tomboy like Alcott, is left feeling as though the strong bond between her and her sisters is torn apart after oldest Meg marries and Beth dies of scarlet fever. Jo is strongly against marriage in a world where women struggle to be anything without a husband, and when her closest friend and neighbor Laurie professes his love for her and proposes, she refuses his offer. Alcott herself said :

 “I am more than half-persuaded that I am a man’s soul put by some freak of nature into a woman’s body … because I have fallen in love with so many pretty girls and never once the least bit with any man.”

Alcott has mused that every boy she knew claimed that they were who inspired the character of Laurie, but she writes in her letters that he was not an American boy at all but a Polish one whom she met abroad in 1865. 

In one of her letters , Alcott writes, “Began the second part of “Little Women.” I can do a chapter a day, and in a month I mean to be done. A little success is so inspiring that I now find my “Marches” sober, nice people, and as I can launch into the future, my fancy has more play.” Characteristically, she continues: “Girls write to ask who the little women marry, as if that was the only end and aim of a woman’s life. I won’t marry Jo to Laurie to please anyone.”

As I began my walk up the cobblestone streets of Beacon Hill just as the sun was beginning to set, the lampposts began to light up the unusually quiet streets, so secluded from the nearby hustle and bustle of the rest of the city. I made my way to 20 Pinckney Street and felt the surrealness of this moment as I came across the address, which is now a private residence, marked by a plaque that explained the literary significance of this place.

Alcott lived in a rented room on the third floor of this residence, where she resided when her first book of short stories Flower Fables was published in 1854 when she was 22, the same age I am as I stand at the base of the steps she once walked on. The residence itself is like most of the homes on this street, a quaint brick beauty featuring window boxes lush with greenery.

Though she eventually left Boston to return home to Concord (join LT on our trip to Concord this Fall!), she returned toward the end of her life, purchasing a beautiful five-bedroom Greek Revival style home on 10 Louisburg Square –which I also visited–just a short walk from her previous Boston residence. She moved there after the death of her mother and sister May, and lived there with her ailing father and May’s infant daughter Lulu, who was named for Louisa, and remained until her death in 1888 at the age of 56, just two days after her father passed.

Alcott wrote her first and last published works while living in these homes. She leaves behind her works that have immortalized the beautiful story of her times with her family and are a testament to the importance of sisterhood in her life. Visiting these places brought me closer to an author whose work I admire greatly, and whose legacy will forever be etched in my mind and the minds of so many others.

Related Topics

• Concord Literary Tour
• Literary Travel
• little women
• Louisa May Alcott

Hannah White

Hannah White is a contributing writer at Literary Traveler. She graduated with degrees in English and psychology from Bridgewater State University and is currently pursuing her Masters of Arts degree in English while writing a hybrid collection of nonfiction essays and short stories. She is Graduate Assistant at the Journal of International Women's Studies. Hannah also has experience writing for nonprofits and is interested in working in the publishing industry.

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10 Literary Landmarks In Boston You Have To Visit

Boston may be best known for it's wealth of historical sites, from the Old State House to Faneuil Hall to the Old North Church, but the city has more than political history to offer. If you're traveling to Boston with a backpack full of books, worry not, because there are plenty of literary landmarks in Boston you have to visit this summer while you're there.

The capital city of Massachusetts, Boston is a hot-spot for field trips focused on walking the Freedom Trail, visiting Paul Revere's old house, or paying respect at one of the many old cemeteries throughout the city. But Boston is more than dead white dude's homes and weathered gravestones. It's home to America's ballpark, Fenway Park, the oldest restaurant in America, the Union Oyster House , plenty of museums, concert venues, and cultural centers, and, of course, plenty of literary hot spots. Home to some of the first booksellers and publishers in the original colonies and home to some of the greatest literary minds in America, from Nathaniel Hawthorne to Louisa May Alcott to Louisa May Alcott, you may know Boston for it's reputation in sports, but bookworms should know the city as a must-see literary location. Are you ready?

To help you prepare for your trip to the City on a Hill, here are 7 must-see literary landmarks in Boston . Take it from a fellow bookworm and Boston native, this is one bookish city don't want to miss.

1. Omni Parker House Hotel

Once only known as the Parker House, the Omni Parker House Hotel has been a hot spot for bookish fun since it opened in 1855. The preferred meeting place of The Saturday Club , an intellectual club founded by Ralph Waldo Emerson, Samuel Gray Ward, and Horatio Woodman, the Parker House was home to a meeting of such great literary minds as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and others. The hotel was even featured in Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence as a meeting place for her characters. Though it has been rebuilt since the original meeting days of Emerson and others, you can still stop by the hotel for a drink at one of the restaurants several bars, and you'll surely feel the inspiration of the sight.

2. Boston Public Library

Speaking of libraries, no trip to Boston is complete without a stop at the city's public library. Founded in 1848 and now home to over 23.7 million items, including books, art, and other cultural artifacts, the Boston Public Library's Central branch features a map center, several art and cultural exhibits, rare books and manuscripts, and more. Make sure you leave plenty of time to explore this beautiful building, because there's more than enough books to keep you busy, let alone all the other programing the library has to offer.

2. Boston Antheneum

Though the Boston Public Library may be the city's most famous collection of books, the Boston Antheneum is one of its most important. Founded in 1807, it is one of the oldest independent libraries in the U.S.. Featuring not only books but art galleries, and exhibits, the once small collection is now comprised of over half a million volumes on everything from fiction and literature to Boston history.

4. Longfellow House

Located in Cambridge, this historical site is famous for more than one reason. The Longfellow House , as the name would imply, was once home to Henry W. Longfellow, one of the greatest poets of the 19th century, but it was also the headquarters for George Washington during the Siege on Boston of the Revolutionary War. A beautifully preserved mansion on gorgeous, manicured landscape, the Longfellow House is a great place to stop and check out original furniture and objects, peruse through the in-depth archives, or just take an inspiring walk around the formal garden. Do you feel the poetry coming on yet?

5. Old Corner Bookstore

Although it is now occupied by a Chipotle, the original building of Boston's Old Corner Bookstore still stands. Once the home of the publishers of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and more, the bookstore was once nicknamed "Parnassus Corner" after the home of the nice muses of Greek mythology. You might not be able to buy a book there now, but you can still stop for a visit, a burrito, and a nice afternoon reading break.

6. Louisa May Alcott's Orchard House

Just outside of Boston in Concord, MA, sits a little brown house that served as the longtime home of the Alcott family , including Louisa May Alcott. Set up to look as though the Alcotts still live there, the residence features original possessions of the family, including china, paintings, a library table, and more. Grab your copy of Little Women and head over for weekly programming, a tour of the property, or a reading of your favorite Alcott book.

7. Walden Pond

While you're in Concord, make sure to pack a picnic and take a stroll around Walden Pond . Home to Henry David Thoreau from 1845-1847, this kettle hole became famous after the publication of Walden , the author's reflections of living in the woods. Make sure to bring a copy of Thoreau's famous book to read aloud by the water.

Images: Wikimedia (7); Alice Donovan /Unsplash

4 Day Boston Literary Tour

Explore Boston and it's surrounding communities as you take this immersive 4 Day Boston Literary Tour! Get ready to put yourself in the shoes of some American literary greats!

Day 1 You'll See:

• Faneuil Hall & Marketplace
• Freedom Trail

Day 2 You'll See:

• Concord Museum
• Sleepy Hollow Cemetery
• Emily Dickinson Museum

Day 3 You'll See:

• Cry Innocent- Old Town Hall
• House of the Seven Gables
• Salem Anthenaeum
• Salem Night Tour

Day 4 You'll See:

• Walden Pond
• Louisa May Alcott's Orchard House

Freedom Trail- Every bit of the Freedom Trail tells a story which is perfect for a literary tour of Boston. Along the trail, which spins tales of the American Revolution and more, expect to see museums, a ship, burying grounds, and many other literary landmarks! Day 2 Concord Museum- Authors from the past are forever immortalized in the Concord Museum. Discover and learn about literature from the Revolutionary War. While you’re there, check out the illustrated exhibit on the building of the Lincoln Memorial.

Sleepy Hollow Cemetery- Concord’s largest active public burial ground is the next stop of your journey. Here is where you will find Author’s Ridge where Louisa May Alcott, Emerson, Thoreau and Hawthorne are buried. Pay your respects to these literary greats and enjoy the preserved serenity of this famous cemetery.

Emily Dickinson Museum- Take a visit to two historic homes: The Homestead and The Evergreens. The Homestead was the birthplace and home of Emily Dickinson. The Evergreen is located next door and was home to her brother and his family. Experience what home life was like for Dickinson and let your imaginations soar!

Old Manse- Built in 1770 and called home once by Ralph Waldo Emerson and Nathaniel Hawthorne, our tour lands here at the Old Manse. This is the site where Hawthorne wrote his essay “Nature” and where Emerson and his wife began their lives together. The Manse is now a museum and operated by the Trustees of Reservations. Day 3 Cry Innocent- Old Town Hall- Become a member of the Puritan Jury during this masterpiece of theatre. Set back in 1692 during the witchcraft trials, listen to testimonies as you stand witness to a trial yourself! This production has been featured on channels such as the Discovery Channel, the Travel Channel, A&E, Nickelodeon and more!

House of the Seven Gables- In Salem, step inside the setting of a Hawthorne novel! Built in 1668 and labeled a historic landmark in 2007, this amazing home has more to it than meets the eye. Discover those mysteries for yourself.

Salem Athenaeum- Your Boston literary trip would be incomplete without a visit to one of the oldest libraries in the nation! From current to historical books galore, this is a true link between the past and our present.

Salem Night Tour- Starting at 8pm, follow your guide through Salem as they guide you through the myths, legends and history surrounding Salem, including the infamous Salem Witchcraft Trials. How amazing yet spooky! Day 4 Walden Pond- Quite possibly the birth place of the conservation movement, thanks in large part to Henry David Thoreau’s Walden, enjoy your time here at Walden Pond. Explore a replica of Thoreau’s single room cabin and roam the grounds where literary legends like Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson used to stroll through.

Louisa May Alcott’s Orchard House- Finally, let us visit the home where Louisa May Alcott wrote her beloved classic, Little Women. Purchased by the Alcotts in 1857, this building has been mostly preserved with roughly 80% of the furnishing being original pieces of the home. Learn more about this literary landmark as you step inside the novel Little Women!

Are you looking for an affordable, customized group trip?

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The map shows both event and program spaces located throughout the Literary District where readings, conferences, and other literary gatherings take place, and historic literary sites. The event venues and historic literary sites are listed in separate columns.

Feel like taking a leisurely walk past the homes of Robert Frost and Henry James, or the “birthplace” of Curious George? Click on District Historic Sites . Want to see where writers’ conferences, readings, book festivals, signings, and workshops take place? Click on Event Programming .

Edgar Allan Poe was born near this spot in 1809. This sculpture, unveiled in 2014, depicts him carrying a suitcase spilling with pages from his work. Also emerging from the case: a heart, referencing his 1843 story “The Tell-Tale Heart.” A spread-winged raven is perched on his shoulder, a nod to his greatest success, the 1845 poem: “The Raven.”

(Address no longer exists but would be just where the The Trolley Shop and Leather World are situated.) First monthly publication targeting an exclusively African American readership.

Burial plot of the banker-poet of Boston in the 1800s.

Ploughshares was named after a Cambridge pub called The Plough and Stars. Today it’s one of the world’s most esteemed literary journals.

Rodgers and Hammerstein literally wrote the title song to Oklahoma! in the lobby there and later won a special Pulitzer for the play.

Immortalized by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. in his Autocrat of the Breakfast Table. (Boston Common, the country’s oldest public green space, is also a spot that Ralph Waldo Emerson grazed cows as a child. And Poe, who had a distaste for the transcendentalists, dismissed them as frogpondians, for the Common’s Frog Pond on which people ice skate during the winter.)

Jacob Wirth is a historic German-American restaurant and bar which was once frequented by Beat poet and novelist Jack Kerouac. It even boasts a cameo in his 1950 novel, The Town and the City.

Established in 1825, the Brattle is one of America’s oldest and largest antiquarian booksellers. It features two floors of general used books, a third floor of rare and antiquarian books, and an outside sale lot.

Fuller (1810-1850) was a 19th century critic and pioneering female reporter for the New York Tribune. Along with Ralph Waldo Emerson, she helped establish the American transcendentalism movement and was the editor of the transcendentalist newspaper, The Dial.

Bronson Alcott was a progressive transcendentalist and father of Louisa May Alcott.

Edward Bellamy, in his celebrated 1888 novel Looking Backward, described a utopian Boston in the year 2000 with its “Stores! Stores! Stores! Miles of stores!” on Washington Street.

American Founding Father, polymath, and co-author of the Declaration of Independence was born here—the 15th of 16 children. The house’s exact location is disputed as a fire destroyed the original structure in 1811.

Specializes in “used~old~scarce” texts. Commonwealth is also a publisher that goes under the name of Black Widow Press, publishing poetry and works translated from other languages.

The Evening Transcript was one of the newspapers that made up the “cradle of American journalism.” It published an early draft of “America the Beautiful” in 1904 and ran from 1830 to 1941. When the original editor died in 1872, it was taken over by his sister, Cornelia Wells Walter, now widely regarded as the first female editor of a major daily paper.

Members of Old South’s congregation included Samuel Adams and the young Benjamin Franklin and his family. Phillis Wheatley joined the church in 1771. Although the enslaved girl was African-born, she became one of the best-known poets in pre-nineteenth century America.

This 19th century literary center revolutionized literature by publishing the first bestselling works by American authors, including Harriet Beecher Stowe, Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

Once had the offices of the Boston Globe, the Boston Herald, the Boston Advertiser, the Boston Post, the Boston Journal, the Boston Traveler, and the Associated Press. Look for the plaque at 1 Devonshire Place between 266 Washington Street and Devonshire Street.

This veteran antiquarian seller of used and rare books specializes in 19th and 20th century literature, inscribed books, and manuscripts. Its open “by chance” or “by appointment.”

Old City Hall and four-time Mayor James Michael Curley were the inspiration for Edwin O’Connor’s Pulitzer-winning 1956 novel, The Last Hurrah. In 1969 City Hall was moved to its current location in Government Center.

Founded in 1635, the Boston Latin School was the first public school in the United States. Its alumni includes Ben Franklin, Cotton Mather, Ralph Waldo Emerson, John Hancock, and many other notables.

Site of the private, all-male “Saturday Club” where, in 1855, writers like Emerson, Thoreau and Longfellow mixed with contemporary historians, philosophers and the Presidents of Harvard over cigars and drinks. A young Malcolm X used to work in the Parker House kitchen.

The only cemetery in Boston between the years 1630 and 1660, King’s Chapel Burial Ground is believed to contain the inspiration for the gravestone of Hester Prynne, the fictional heroine of Nathanial Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter.

Formerly the site of the Tremont House, where Charles Dickens and Davy Crocket once stayed, it’s now the home of literary journal Salamander and The Clark Collection of African American literature.

Founded on the principle that worship should be free, The Tremont Temple hosted speakers including Frederick Douglass, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and President Abraham Lincoln. Dickens performed his first public reading of A Christmas Carol here.

The poet, physician, and father of America’s most famous jurist lived here from 1841-1859. Many of Holmes’ works were published in The Atlantic Monthly, a magazine that he named

Originally built as a classical music venue, the climax of Henry James’ novel The Bostonians takes place here. The Orpheum also hosted lectures by Oscar Wilde and Harriet Beecher Stowe.

Burial site of the parents of Benjamin Franklin, victims of the Boston Massacre, poet Phillis Wheatley’s master, and the woman once believed to be the original Mother Goose.

The building at 101 Tremont began its life as the Boston Museum, which hosted works of fine art, a collection of wax figures, a theater, and a zoo. In the mid-1800s, the Museum Building, as it was then called, was taken over by Gleason’s Publishing Hall, which became the first company in the country to integrate all aspects of the publishing process under one roof.

New England Society for the Suppression of Vice was founded here in 1878. Later, editor H.L. Mencken was arrested for selling “certain obscene, indecent, and impure printing…manifestly tending to corrupt the morals of youth.”

Margaret Rey, Rachel Carson, and others published from those offices.

This journal was published by women’s rights advocate and abolitionist Lucy Stone.

Lawyer and writer known for his scholarly work on Spanish literature.

Founded in 1807, the Boston Athenæum is one of the oldest independent libraries in the United States. It was relocated to is present site in 1849.

Free lending library of more than 3,000 titles on abolitionism, slavery, social movements.

Devoted to the history and archives of the Congregational Church, coextensive with much of early Boston’s literary history.

The bookstore on the first floor of the State House sells printed documents from the Code of Massachusetts Regulations (CMR), election statistics, guides from the historical society, books on the history of Boston, and souvenirs.

Gould Shaw led one of the first African-American units to fight in the Civil War. The large bronze relief created to memorialize him inspired both Robert Lowell’s poem, “For the Union Dead” and Paul Laurence Dunbar’s poem, “Robert Gould Shaw.”

The original, 1837 offices of Little, Brown publisher of Louisa May Alcott’s beloved classic, Little Women.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow unsuccessfully courted Frances “Fanny” Appleton for years, when he received a letter in which Fanny finally agreed to marry him. Longfellow walked to see Fanny, “too restless to sit in a carriage,” he later wrote, and the two were married in July, in Appleton’s house at 39 Beacon Street.

One of the first English-speaking historians to write about the Spanish empire; heralded as the first American scientific historian.

(Exact address no longer exists). Pulitzer-prize winning author, journalist.

Founded as the New England Society for the Suppression of Vice, this Boston organization was involved in the censorship of books and the performing arts from the late 19th century to the middle of the 20th century, prompting the phrase “Banned in Boston.” Until recently the building housed Beacon Press, a department of the Unitarian Universalist Association and an independent publisher of serious fiction and nonfiction by Michael Patrick MacDonald, Rashid Khalidi, Mary Oliver and others.

Designed covers for famous authors at Houghton Mifflin. Also the site of an annual competition dinner between Little Brown, Houghton Mifflin and the Atlantic Monthly Press for who sold the most books in the previous year in five categories.

Stewart was a black abolitionist whose speeches were the first publicly delivered talks by an American woman on politics and women’s rights. Walker, in 1829, published “Appeal to the Colored Citizens of the World,” which decried slavery and racial hatred.

National historic site commemorating the African-American writer and abolitionist.

Among the most important National Historic Landmarks in the nation, the African Meeting House and Abiel Smith School on Beacon Hill were built in the early 1800’s and are two of the museum’s most valuable assets.

Lowry (1937-) is the award-winning author of The Giver (1993), the first YA dystopian novel, and Number the Stars (1990) about the escape of a Jewish family in WWII Europe.

The abolitionist, naturalist, philosopher, and author of the book Walden and the essay “Civil Disobedience” lived here from 1821-1823.

Nineteenth- and 20th-century essayist, poet, and editor.

Alcott (1832 –1888), the poet and novelist best known for Little Women (1868) and its sequels, lived here as a young woman.

Hawthorne (1804-1864) best known for The Scarlet Letter and Young Goodman Brown lived here from January 1839 to October 1840.

Twentieth-century literary critic influential in the field of American literature.

Wrote The Late George Apley, a satiric novel about Boston’s upper class.

Robert Lowell (1917- 1977) was a poet born into a Boston Brahmin family that could trace its origins back to the Mayflower. He wrote “91 Revere Street,” a prose piece that was published in The Partisan Review but is best known for his poetry volume, Life Studies. (Later in his life, Lowell also lived at #s 170 and 239 Marlborough Street in Boston’s Back Bay.)

Publisher of the Woman’s Era Journal, the first newspaper by and for black women.

Paul (1809–1841) was an African-American abolitionist, a primary school teacher and member of the Boston Female Anti-Slavery Society. In 1835 year she wrote the first biography of an African American published in the United States: Memoir of James Jackson.

Contemporary New York Times best-selling author and master of the medical thriller.

The Little Women author lived here in the latter part of her life.

Howells (1837–1920) helped midwife American realism, and was known as the “Dean of American Letters.” In addition to being a playwright, literary critic, and novelist (The Rise of Silas Lapham) he was an editor for The Atlantic Monthly.

Gibran (1883–1931) was a Lebanese-American painter, poet, writer and a key figure in a Romantic movement that transformed Arabic literature in the first half of the twentieth century. Gibran is the third best-selling poet of all time, behind William Shakespeare and Laozi. He’s best known for The Prophet (1923).

Nineteenth- and early-20th century novelist who wrote The Turn of the Screw, What Maisie Knew, and other well-known works.

Frost (1874–1963) was among the most celebrated American poets, well-known for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American colloquial speech. On January 20, 1961, he recited “The Gift Outright” at John F. Kennedy’s Presidential Inauguration.

Popular novelist at the turn of the 20th century, having written more than 25 works of fiction.

American writer Sylvia Plath (1932–1963) moved here with her husband, English poet Ted Hughes (1930–1998), after leaving Northampton, MA. in 1958. By the time she took her own life at age of 30, she already had a following for her poetry and her only published novel, The Bell Jar.

Poet, critic, and early practitioner of Gothic literature.

Wrote The Oregon Trail.

Stronghold of the anti-slavery movement and the site of notable speeches by such people as Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, and William Lloyd Garrison.

Morison (1887–1976) was a Pulitzer Prize-winning maritime author famous for his eyewitness accounts of the Navy during World War II.

Created by Nancy Schön in 1987 as a tribute to Robert McCloskey’s Caldecott medal-winning children’s story of the same name, this sculpture is among the most beloved in Boston, often sporting the jerseys of local teams during playoffs.

Wrote “Man Without a Country.”

Spot at which the character Louis, a trumpeter swan born without a voice, plays his trumpet in E.B. White’s The Trumpet of the Swan (1970).

Created as a literary and cultural commentary magazine in 1857, The Atlantic Monthly resided at this address until it moved to Washington DC in 2006. The periodical was named Magazine of the Year by the American Society of Magazine Editors in 2016.

Epitomized the “Lost Generation” that came of age during World War I.

Li’l Abner cartoonist.

Updike (1932–2009) was an American novelist, poet, short story writer, and critic. Celebrated for his realistic but subtle depiction of protestant, suburban, middle-class life, he’s best known for his Rabbit series, which earned him two Pulitzer prizes.

A poet and writer, Howe (1819–1910) wrote the lyrics to The Battle Hymn of the Republic. She also was an active abolitionist and, following the Civil War, became a leader in the Woman’s Suffrage movement.

Garrison (1805–1879) was a prominent abolitionist, journalist, and suffragist. He’s best known as the editor of the abolitionist newspaper The Liberator, which he cofounded in 1831 and published until slavery was abolished after the Civil War.

Sculpture of Abigail Adams, Lucy Stone, and Phillis Wheatley. Adams’s important letters were published after her death; Stone was first woman in Massachusetts to earn a bachelor’s degree and also edited important publications; Wheatley was first African American poet to publish in the Colonies.

Made a landmark anti-censorship legal defense of Erskine Caldwell’s novel Tragic Ground in 1944.

Established in 1848, the Boston Public Library is one of the oldest and largest publicly supported libraries in the United States. Today it features murals by prominent artists, including a series by John Singer Sargent and an Italian Renaissance-inspired interior courtyard.

Rare books.

The Lebanese-American artist, writer, and philosopher Kahlil Gibran immigrated to the United States in 1895, at the age of 12. While living in Boston, he wrote and illustrated his most famous book, The Prophet, a poetic treatise on such topics as family, religion, and death.

In 1996, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Boston Marathon, the city installed this sculpture by Boston-native Nancy Schön. The sculpture references the famous line from the Aesop fable: “Slow and steady wins the race.”

Contains a stained glass window designed by Boston artist Sarah Wyman Whitman, who also designed book covers for Houghton Mifflin Publishers for authors Holmes, Jewett, Longfellow, and others.

Large Boston publisher with a long history stretching back to the 19th century.

(Now the Taj.) Guests (including bar guests) included Eugene O’Neill, Sylvia Plath, and Anne Sexton.

Did You Know?

Martin Luther King, Jr. lived not too far from the borders of the Boston Literary District at 397 Massachusetts Avenue when he was a student at Boston University. (Coretta Scott, who would someday be his wife, attended the New England Conservatory of Music.)

New England Literary Tours

See sites related to some of the following authors – Ann Hutchinson, Cotton Mather, Phyllis Wheatley, Thornton Wilder, Margaret Sydney, Robert Frost, James Russell Lowell, Ted Hughes, Sylvia Plath, Louisa May Alcott, Nathaniel Hawthorne, E.E. Cummings, Saul Bellow, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

We can also visit the homes of Henry David Thoreau (including Walden Pond), Ralph Waldo Emerson, David McCullough, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Patricia Cornwell, Greg Maguire, Charles Dickens, Edgar Allen Poe, John Updike, Isaac Asimov, Joe Haldeman (sci-fi), Herman Melville, Alan Lightman, Noam Chomsky, David Allen Sibley, and Rudyard Kipling (yes, the author of Gunga Din) – he wrote his Jungle Books while living with his American wife at their home in southern Vermont, near the Massachusetts border.

Please note that it is impossible to see all of these homes in one day, though we are happy to customize your tour so that you see just what you would like.

You may also be interested in:

Quirky & Curious Tours (Mix & Match)

Newport, Rhode Island

Foliage Tours

Campus Tours

Author readings around Boston through June 29

All author appearances are in person and free unless otherwise noted.

SUNDAY JUNE 23

• Dorson Plourde (” Garbage Gulls ”) will read at 10:30 a.m. at Brookline Booksmith (Registration is requested.)
• Jessie Piltch-Loeb (” What’s Going On With Papa Bear? ”) will read at 11 a.m. at Hummingbird Books .
• Jacqueline Fein-Zachary (” Harvest Dreams ”) will sign copies of her book at 3 p.m. at Copper Dog Books (Registration is requested.)

MONDAY JUNE 24

• Matthew J. Davenport (” The Longest Minute: The Great San Francisco Earthquake and Fire of 1906 ″) will discuss his book virtually at 6 p.m. through American Ancestors (Registration is required.)
• Chloe O. Davis (” The Queens’ English ”) will discuss her book virtually at 7 p.m. through All She Wrote Books (Registration is required.)
• Illustrator Ekua Holmes (” Coretta: The Autobiography of Mrs. Coretta Scott King ”) will be in conversation with Jack Curtis at 7 p.m. at Brookline Booksmith (Registration is requested.)
• Carlos Lozada (” The Washington Book: How to Read Politics and Politicians ”) will be in conversation with Geoff Edgers at 7 p.m. at Harvard Book Store .

TUESDAY JUNE 25

• Jonathan Wilson (” The Red Balcony ”) will be in conversation with Hillary Chute at 7 p.m. at Brookline Booksmith (Registration is requested.)
• Jack Turban (” Free to Be: Understanding Kids & Gender Identity ”) will be in conversation with Schuyler Bailar at 7 p.m. at Harvard Book Store .
• Richard J. King (” Sailing Alone: A Surprising History of Isolation and Survival at Sea ”) will discuss his book at 6:30 p.m. at Titcomb’s Bookshop (Registration is required.)
• Dr. Irvin Scott (” Leading with Heart and Soul: 30 Inspiring Lessons of Faith, Learning, and Leadership for Educators ”) will be in conversation with Jeff Kinney and sign copies of his book at 7 p.m. at An Unlikely Story (Registration is required.)

WEDNESDAY JUNE 26

• Paul Tremblay (” Horror Movie ”) will be in conversation with David Baillie at 6 p.m. at Copper Dog Books (Registration is requested.)
• Ellen T. Crenshaw (” The Baby-Sitters Club ”) will discuss her book at 6:30 p.m. at An Unlikely Story (Tickets start at $5.)
• Edward Wong (” At the Edge of Empire: A Family’s Reckoning with China ”) will be in conversation with Scott Tong at 7 p.m. at WBUR CitySpace (Tickets start at $5 for students, $15 for general public.)
• Members of the Boston University 2023-2024 poetry cohort will read at 7 p.m. at Grolier Poetry Book Shop (Registration is required.)
• Francine Prose (” 1974: A Personal History ”) will be in conversation with Stephen McCauley at 7 p.m. at Harvard Book Store .
• Bobby Finger (” Four Squares: A Novel ”) will discuss his book at 7 p.m. at Porter Square Books (Registration is requested.)
• Claire Messud (” This Strange Eventful History ”) will discuss her book at 7 p.m. at Newtonville Books .

THURSDAY JUNE 27

• Mike De Socio (” Morally Straight: How the Fight for LGBTQ+ Inclusion Changed the Boy Scouts–And America ”) will be in conversation with Mitchell Zuckoff at 6 p.m. at Beacon Hill Books & Cafe (Registration is requested.)
• Jon Favreau , Jon Lovett , and Tommy Vietor (” Democracy or Else: How to Save America in 10 Easy Steps ”) will be in conversation with Dan Pfeiffer at 6 p.m. at First Parish Church (Tickets are $38, include a copy of the book.)
• Beatriz Williams (” Husbands & Lovers ”) will discuss her book at 6:30 p.m. at the Sandwich Public Library (Registration is required.)
• Joseph Earl Thomas (” God Bless You, Otis Spunkmeyer: A Novel ”) will discuss his book at 7 p.m. at Harvard Book Store .
• Catherine Newman (” Sandwich ”) will be in conversation with Laura Zigman at 7 p.m. at Porter Square Books (Registration is requested.)

FRIDAY JUNE 28

• Aaron Caycedo-Kimura (” Common Grace: Poems ”) will read with Luisa Caycedo-Kimura and sign copies of his work at 6 p.m. at Beacon Hill Books & Cafe (Registration is requested.)
• Chris Whitaker (” All the Colors of the Dark: A Novel ”) will discuss his book at 7 p.m. at Harvard Book Store .

SATURDAY JUNE 29

• Mark Momplaisir (” The Power of You ,” “ Strong Women, Fed-Up Men, Defeated Sons, Broken Daughters: Healing Generational Pain ”) will discuss his work at 1:30 p.m. at Frugal Bookstore .
• Chris Whitaker (” All the Colors of the Dark: A Novel ”) will be in conversation with Hank Phillippi Ryan at 7 p.m. at An Unlikely Story (Tickets are $31.88, include a copy of the book.)

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Current Leaderboard for Best Winery Tour

USA TODAY 10Best Readers' Choice Awards

There's nothing like getting a behind-the-scenes look at the winemaking process (while tasting along the way) to hone both your appreciation and your palate. We asked a panel of experts to nominate their preferred winery tours throughout the U.S., and now it's your turn to vote for your favorite. Vote once per day until Monday, July 22 at noon ET. The 10 best winery tours will be announced on Wednesday, July 31. Read the official Readers' Choice rules . 

There's nothing like getting a behind-the-scenes look at the winemaking process (while tasting along the way) to hone both your appreciation and your palate. We asked a panel of experts to nominate their preferred...   Read More

1. Ken Wright Cellars - Carlton, Oregon

Guests love the tour at Ken Wright Cellars for learning more... More >

2. Eberle Winery - Paso Robles, California

Explore the heart of Paso Robles with a visit to iconic... More >

3. Cline Family Cellars - Sonoma, California

Visitors to Cline Family Cellars can enjoy a self-guided tour... More >

4. Benziger Family Winery - Glen Ellen, California

Visitors to Benziger Family Winery have quite a few tour and... More >

5. Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery - Hammondsport, New York

Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery, located in the Finger Lakes wine... More >

6. Neal Family Vineyards - Angwin, California

Neal Family Vineyards, a third-generation family-owned... More >

7. The Donum Estate - Sonoma, California

A visually stunning property in Sonoma, the Donum Estate is... More >

8. Archery Summit - Dayton, Oregon

Founded in 1993, Archery Summit uses grapes grown in its... More >

9. Merriam Vineyards - Healdsburg, California

Experience the classic charm of Sonoma County's Russian River... More >

10. Davis Estates - Calistoga, California

Immerse in the elegance of Napa Valley at Davis Estates. The... More >

11. Inglenook - Rutherford, California

Inglenook invites you to a timeless Napa experience, where... More >

12. Pine Ridge Vineyards - Napa, California

Pine Ridge Vineyards in the Stags Leap District of Napa... More >

13. Fenn Valley Vineyards - Fennville, Michigan

Throughout the year, wine lovers and the casually curious are... More >

14. Robert Hall Winery - Paso Robles, California

The staff at Robert Hall Winery provides an introduction to... More >

15. Buena Vista Winery - Sonoma, California

Step into the essence of California winemaking with a tour of... More >

16. Colterris Winery - Palisade, Colorado

Discover the beauty of Colorado's wine country at Colterris... More >

17. Gundlach Bundschu Winery - Sonoma, California

Just five minutes from Sonoma Plaza, historic Gundlach... More >

18. Nassau Valley Vineyards & Winery - Lewes, Delaware

Nassau Valley Vineyards is Delaware’s first and only... More >

19. Palmaz Vineyards - Napa, California

Palmaz Vineyards blends tradition with innovation in the... More >

20. Wente Vineyards - Livermore, California

Wente Vineyards is a must-visit for anyone with an... More >

About 10Best Readers' Choice Awards

Nominees are submitted by a panel of experts. 10Best editors narrow the field to select the final set of nominees for the Readers’ Choice Awards. Readers can vote once per category, per day. For any questions or comments, please read the FAQ or email USA TODAY 10Best .

The Experts

Amanda o'brien.

Amanda O'Brien is a London based luxury travel...   Read More

Amanda O'Brien is a London based luxury travel blogger. Her website, The Boutique Adventurer , has over 350,000 followers across its platforms. The site focusses on travel adventures that end the day with a high thread count on the sheets and a good glass of local wine. Amanda is WSET Level 3 qualified. Find her on  Instagram ,  Tiktok , and  Youtube .

Jenny Peters

Jenny Peters – aka Jet Set Jen – is a Los...   Read More

Jenny Peters – aka Jet Set Jen – is a Los Angeles-based freelance journalist, editor and party columnist specializing in travel, entertainment, film, food, wine, fashion and the other good things in life. She is a founding/voting member of the Critics Choice Association, who present the Critics’ Choice Awards every January. Her favorite places to be are on the beach in Southern California playing volleyball, scuba diving with the sharks in warm tropical waters or strolling the streets and soaking in the atmosphere of one of the world's great cities (New Orleans and Florence are her favorites).

Samantha Facciolo

Samantha Facciolo is a freelance writer and...   Read More

Samantha Facciolo is a freelance writer and educator whose reported stories and essays on education, immigration, the intersection of community and social justice, food and drink, relationships, travel, and more have appeared in The New York Times, Reader’s Digest, Newsweek, Marie Claire, The Wine Enthusiast, and other publications. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from New York University and has served as a writer-in-residence in New York City and Boston public schools. Her literary writing has won Novel Slices' Novel Excerpts Contest and American University’s Louise M. Young Award for Fiction. Follow her on Instagram at @samanthafacciolowrites . 

10Best Editors

USA TODAY 10Best provides users with original,...   Read More

USA TODAY 10Best provides users with original, unbiased and experiential travel coverage of top attractions, things to see and do, and restaurants for top destinations in the U.S. and around the world.

Back to Readers' Choice

Hillary Rodham Clinton To Tour U.S. Cities This Fall

Tour stops include Washington D.C., Chicago, and more.

Former First Lady, Senator from New York, and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will travel the United States this fall for a multi-city tour to discuss her new book, Something Lost, Something Gained: Reflections on Life, Love, and Liberty. At each event, Secretary Clinton and a moderator will take the audience on a journey of unvarnished exchanges on politics, democracy, the threats we face, as well as friendship, aging, marriage, and how we can all work together to shape a future to be proud of.

LATEST NEWS

The New York Times best-selling author and GRAMMY-award winner's new book, Something Lost, Something Gained: Reflections on Life, Love, and Liberty will be released by Simon & Schuster on September 17th, 2024.

"I can't wait to hit the road and talk about Something Lost, Something Gained with you in person. I hope you can join me for wide-ranging conversations that go behind the scenes and include never-before told stories," says Secretary Clinton. "We'll discuss the state of our politics and creating the future we want for our children and grandchildren and, most of all, have some fun while we're at it!"

Produced by Chicago based Innovation Arts and Entertainment, the tour cities include Washington D.C., Seattle, Boston, San Francisco, and Chicago. Beginning today, June 25, register at www.HillaryClintonLive.com to receive an invitation to purchase presale tickets when they become available on July 9. Tickets will be available to the general public beginning July 12. For more information about presales, tour dates and to purchase VIP packages and tickets, visit www.hillaryclintonlive.com .

2024 Tour Dates (subject to change)

Monday, September 16 at 7 p.m. Washington D.C. DAR Constitution Hall

Friday, September 27 at 7:30 p.m. Boston, MA Boch Center - Wang Theatre

Monday, October 7 at 7 p.m. San Francisco, CA Davies Symphony Hall

Sunday, October 13 at 7 p.m. Chicago, IL Auditorium Theatre

Sunday, October 20 at 3 p.m. Seattle, WA Paramount Theatre

About Hillary Rodham Clinton

Hillary Rodham Clinton has spent over five decades in public service as an advocate, attorney, First Lady, U.S. Senator, U.S. Secretary of State, and the first woman nominated for president by a major political party. She is the author of ten best-selling books, host of the podcast You and Me Both, founder of the global production studio HiddenLight Productions, Chancellor of Queen's University Belfast, and a Professor of Practice at the School of International and Public Affairs and Presidential Fellow at Columbia World Projects at Columbia University. She is married to former U.S. President Bill Clinton , has one daughter Chelsea, and three grandchildren: Charlotte, Aidan, and Jasper. Visit HillaryClinton.com.

About Something Lost, Something Gained: Reflections on Life, Love, and Liberty

In Hillary Rodham Clinton 's new book, to be released on September 17, 2024, she offers forthright views on politics, democracy, the threats we face, and the future within our reach. She shares the latest chapter of her inspiring life and shows us how to age with grace and keep moving forward, with grit, joy, purpose, and a sense of humor. 

Photo credit: Annie Liebovitz

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