Publisher's Synopsis
My Friends At Brook Farm is a memoir written by John Van Der Zee Sears about his experiences living at Brook Farm, a utopian community in Massachusetts during the mid-19th century. The book provides a detailed account of the daily life, customs, and beliefs of the members of the community, as well as their struggles and triumphs. Sears was a close friend of many of the key figures at Brook Farm, including George Ripley, the founder of the community, and Nathaniel Hawthorne, the famous author who lived there for a time. The book offers a unique perspective on the ideals and aspirations of the members of Brook Farm, as well as the challenges they faced in trying to create a new kind of society. My Friends At Brook Farm is a fascinating historical document that sheds light on an important chapter in American history, and provides insight into the hopes and dreams of those who sought to create a better world.Dr. Ripley gained my confidence by claiming old acquaintance, recalling a former meeting that I had quite forgotten. Several years previous, when I was a very small boy indeed, my father had taken me with him on a flying trip from New York to Boston, deciding to do so, I suppose rather than to leave mother in a strange city with two children on her hands. During that brief visit Dr. Ripley had taken father to call on an illustrious artist, and he now recalled the circumstances to my mind. With his prompting I could remember riding in a carriage; seeing a tall silvery old gentleman wearing a black velvet robe lined with red, and tasting white grapes for the first time; but I could not think of the silvery gentleman's name.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.