Author Homes in Massachusetts: Background information when reading Dayswork

Author Homes in Massachusetts

This article relates to Dayswork

One of the topics explored in Dayswork by Chris Bachelder and Jennifer Habel is Herman Melville's home in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Arrowhead, which he went into significant debt to purchase but where he spent what seem to have been the happiest and most productive years of his life. Dayswork additionally mentions the homes of Nathaniel Hawthorne and Emily Dickinson, also in Western Massachusetts. Below are these and more of the many author homes literary road-trippers are able to visit in the Bay State.

Arrowhead (Herman Melville, Pittsfield) Melville's home, where he lived from 1850–1863, is now owned and operated by the Berkshire County Historical Society, which also has its headquarters there. Aspiring writers can, for a fee, bring their own writing material and spend an hour or two at Melville's desk with its view of Mount Greylock. Several organizations, including the historical society, jointly manage a "Melville Trail" of locations significant to Melville's life in Western Massachusetts.

The Old Manse (Nathaniel Hawthorne and Ralph Waldo Emerson, Concord) As the authors of Dayswork note, Nathaniel Hawthorne moved almost constantly throughout his life, but he did live at The Old Manse for three years, from 1842–1845, after marrying Sophia Peabody. The house in Concord had previously been the home of Ralph Waldo Emerson, whose grandfather built it in the 1770s. Now it is operated by The Trustees of Reservations, and in addition to guided tours, the property features an apple orchard that can be rented for weddings.

Emily Dickinson Museum (Amherst) The house in Amherst where Dickinson was born and spent her entire life is now, along with the house next door, a museum devoted to the poet and her family, containing more than 8,000 objects. The museum is operated by Amherst College, which also houses an extensive archive of Dickinson's manuscripts.

W.E.B. Du Bois Homesite (Great Barrington) Although writer and editor W.E.B. Du Bois's childhood home is no longer standing, its site is a National Historical Landmark, and numerous partner organizations have come together to construct an interpretive walking trail outlining the influential thinker's intellectual journey and its roots in Western Massachusetts while also highlighting the history of African Americans in the state.

The Mount (Edith Wharton, Lenox) Far grander than the other homes in this list is the imposing mansion of Edith Wharton, who lived in Lenox from 1901–1911, and wrote Ethan Frome and The House of Mirth there. A National Historic Landmark, The Mount is operated by an independent nonprofit, which runs a bookshop on site, and offers guided tours as well as special events such as lectures, a writer-in-residence program, ghost tours, and tours for children. The Mount is also a spectacular wedding venue.

Orchard House (Louisa May Alcott, Concord) Just down the road from The Old Manse is Orchard House, home of Louisa May Alcott, where she wrote Little Women. It has been open to the public as a historic house museum for over 100 years and also hosts diverse events such as summer camps, lecture series, and even a road race.

This is just a small sampling of the author homes available to visit in Massachusetts. Massachusetts Center for the Book maintains a comprehensive list of literary museums in the state, many of which are the homes of authors, ranging from Henry David Thoreau to Edward Gorey. Perhaps it's time to take a road trip through literary history while exploring picturesque New England!

Author residence images, in order appearing above:

Arrowhead: By Arthur C. Haskell, via Library of Congress
The Old Manse: From National Archives Catalog
Emily Dickinson Museum: By Daderot, via Wikimedia Commons
W.E.B. Du Bois Homesite: By Daniel Case (CC BY-SA 3.0)
The Mount: By Esther Westerveld (CC BY 2.0)
Orchard House: From National Archives Catalog

Filed under Books and Authors

This "beyond the book article" relates to Dayswork. It originally ran in October 2023 and has been updated for the September 2024 paperback edition. Go to magazine.