Walden West and Related Writings

Walden West (1961) is one of August Derleth’s most enduring and beloved books. In a series of reminiscences about both the people and the landscape of his native town of Sauk City, Wisconsin (which he refers to as Sac Prairie), Derleth expresses, in exquisitely modulated prose, his lifelong affection for the locale where he was born. The book is filled with recollections of his maternal and paternal grandmothers, the harness shop where he held forth with friends and acquaintances, and the distinctive characters that made Sauk City a microcosm of the American society of its time. But it was the topography of the town and neighboring regions—the houses that embodied the personalities of their occupants; the birds, frogs, and other fauna who lived in this congenial environment; the fields that endured the recurring succession of the seasons—that most poignantly evokes Derleth’s devotion. In this book Derleth establishes himself as a true Midwestern acolyte of Henry David Thoreau. This book includes a number of texts that relate to Walden West; a bibliography of first appearances of the pieces is also provided. Read more