During his lifetime and for some years after his death, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was by far the most popular and widely read American poet in the world. Although his reputation today is greatly diminished, a portion of his work is still respected by critics, is enjoyed by ordinary readers, and stands as a permanent addition to literature and folklore. Longfellow wrote prolifically for nearly a half century and was very much a man of his time. To students of history his work is a valuable repository of the moral and spiritual ideals of Victorian America. A remarkably well-educated and well-travelled man, Longfellow was also an important scholar and educator. He was a college professor, a translator, a writer of textbooks, a compiler of anthologies. Because he and his wife were famous for their hospitality and good natures, his home in Cambridge became a gathering place for prominent people...