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In the original Vassall House — as well as during George Washington’s
stay — this room was the dining room. When Henry and Fanny first occupied the house after their
marriage in 1843 this room was their combined dining room and parlor. In 1845, after completing their
dining room and library, the Longfellows converted the space to their study.
From the mid-1840s until Henry W. Longfellow’s death in 1882, the room served
as his study, a well-used place where he read, wrote poetry, correspondence, and journal entries,
reviewed proofs, visited with family and friends, smoked cigars, played with his children, and took
naps. During Fanny’s lifetime, although clearly Henry’s room, it was to a great degree
her study and a family gathering room as well.
…His work is interrupted by frequent visitors of another sort;
for among the travelers of all nations the tour of America would hardly be considered complete
without a visit to Craigie House. And speaking fluently French, German, Italian, Spanish, and
Portuguese, having also a knowledge of Danish, and of Dutch, it may be supposed that there seldom
comes a traveler with whom the poet cannot, if it need be, hold in his own tongue….
—Written by Mr. Robert Ferguson, a writer from Carlisle, England,
in September 1864 |
“ …To enliven the winter, I have formed the Dante Club,
consisting of Lowell, Norton, and myself, meeting every Wednesday evening, with a good deal of
talk and a little supper….”
—Letter from Henry W. Longfellow to Ernest Longfellow, November
17, 1865 |
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