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This is the third and final volume of the first full-scale scholarly edition of Thoreau鈥檚 correspondence in more than half a century. Together, the volumes present every known letter written or received by Thoreau, almost 650 in all, including more than 100 that have never been published before.

Correspondence 3: 1857鈥�1862 contains 239 letters, 121 written by Thoreau and 118 written to him. Sixty-seven letters are collected here for the first time; of these, forty-four have not been published before, including five dated between 1837 and 1855 that are included in an addenda. During this period, Thoreau continued to pursue the interests and activities that had occupied him earlier in the 1850s. He was well established as a writer and lecturer. Letters document the publication of 鈥淐hesuncook鈥� (1858) and 鈥淎n Address on the Succession of Forest Trees鈥� (1860), as well as his preparations, a few months before his death, for the posthumous publication of The Maine Woods and the essays 鈥淲alking,鈥� 鈥淎utumnal Tints,鈥� 鈥淲ild Apples,鈥� and 鈥淟ife without Principle.鈥� Two weeks after John Brown鈥檚 raid on Harpers Ferry, he delivered the country鈥檚 first public defense of Brown鈥檚 character and actions; his address, 鈥淎 Plea for Captain John Brown,鈥� was published in 1860. Correspondents during this period include a robust network of friends, several of whom joined him on hiking and canoeing trips in 1857, 1858, and 1860. His ongoing phenological studies are reflected in letters to other scientific naturalists, and this volume contains letters indicating his appointment as an examiner for Harvard鈥檚 Department of Natural History in 1859 and 1860.

Following every letter, annotations identify correspondents, individuals mentioned, and books quoted, and describe events to which the letter refers. A historical introduction sets the letters in the context of Thoreau鈥檚 life and times, a textual introduction lays out the editorial principles and procedures followed, and a general introduction discusses the history of the publication of Thoreau鈥檚 correspondence. Proper names, publications, events, and ideas found in both the letters and the annotations are included in a comprehensive index.