Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was born and reared in Portland, Maine, in the early 1800's. He grew up in an environment which stimulated his natural creative abilities. As a boy, he enjoyed wandering about the town to watch the blacksmith, the potter, the ropemaker, and other craftsman at work. at times he sauntered down to the harbor to watch ships from far away places load and unload their cargoes.

Henry had a strong interest in history. Once during the War of 1812, his father, a distinguished lawyer in Portland, took him and his brother, Stephen, to watch a naval battle off the coast of Maine. His Grandfather Wadsworth, a former general in the Revolutionary War, often told thrilling stories about his war experiences. Sometimes he led excursions to nearby places where fierce battles had been fought between the British and the Indians.

Besides these advantages, Henry had many favorable conditions at home. His mother taught him to read and spent many hours reading to her children. As he became older, he read all the books in the family library. He liked especially to read about two of his distinguished ancestors, John and Priscilla Alden, of early colonial days.

At school Henry was advanced for his age, and he entered college at the age of fifteen. He and his older brother, Stephen, attended Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine, which was only a short distance away. He had his first poem published at the age of thirteen and continued to write poems from then on.

At Bowdoin College, Henry completed his course with very high honors. The college offered him a professorship in modern languages, if he would study a few years abroad. Accordingly he spent three busy years studying in Europe. Then he assumed his position at Bowdoin College and wrote poems on the side.

In 1836 Longfellow accepted a professorship in modern languages at Harvard College. He held this position until 1854, when he resigned to devote full time to writing. His first volume of poems, which was published in 1836, was entitled Voices of the Night. From then on, he published poems regularly every few years.

The author of this book, Grace Hathaway Melin, has written two other popular volumes in the Childhood of Famous Americans Series.

She possesses the rare ability to bring out the qualities and conditions which have helped characters to become great. In this particular book, she shows how Henry Wadsworth Longfellow grew up to become a great poet. 

From the dust jacket