French Literature Reviews - 2026

Barbara L. Packer, The Transcendentalists
History, Politics and Society

Barbara L. PACKER

The Transcendentalists

Athens, University of Georgia Press,

2007, 304 p.

ISBN : 0820329584

An introduction to the essential figures and writings of Transcendentalism

Barbara L. Packer's long essay "The Transcendentalists" is widely acknowledged by scholars of nineteenth-century American literary history as the best-written, most comprehensive treatment to date of Transcendentalism. Previously existing only as part of a volume in the magisterial Cambridge History of American Literature, it will now be available for the first time in a stand-alone edition.

Packer presents Transcendentalism as a living movement, evolving out of such origins as New England Unitarianism and finding early inspiration in European Romanticism. Transcendentalism changed religious beliefs, philosophical ideas, literary styles, and political allegiances. In addition, it was a social movement whose members collaborated on projects and formed close personal ties. Transcendentalism contains vigorous thought and expression throughout, says Packer; only a study of the entire movement can explain its continuing sway over American thought.

Through fresh readings of both the essential Transcendentalist texts and the best current scholarship, Packer conveys the movement's genuine expectations that its radical spirituality not only would lead to personal perfection but also would inspire solutions to such national problems as slavery and disfranchisement. Here is Transcendentalism in whole, with Emerson, Thoreau, and Fuller restored to their place alongside such contemporaries as Bronson Alcott, George Ripley, Jones Very, Theodore Parker, James Freeman Clarke, Orestes Brownson, and Frederick Henry Hedge.

Barbara L. Packer is a professor of English at the University of California, Los Angeles. She is the author of Emerson's Fall.

American Transcendentalism emerged during the nineteenth century from intellectual roots in New England Unitarianism and European Romanticism. As a prominent chapter in American literary history and thought, the movement brought together writers, reformers, and thinkers who sought spiritual renewal and social reform. Scholars have long situated these developments within wider nineteenth-century discussions concerning religion, politics, and individual conscience. Readers interested in nineteenth-century American literary history and intellectual movements may find this volume a relevant addition to their reading.

Barbara L. Packer examines the major figures of the movement, including Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and Margaret Fuller, alongside contemporaries such as Bronson Alcott and George Ripley. Her long essay explores Transcendentalism as an evolving social and literary movement that influenced religious beliefs, philosophical ideas, and political allegiances. Through readings of essential texts and contemporary scholarship, the work addresses the group's expectations regarding personal perfection and national issues such as slavery and disfranchisement.