Eva March Tappan’s “A Friend in the Library” series is a comprehensive guide to the writings of six seminal American writers, including Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, James Russell Lowell, John Greenleaf Whittier, and Oliver Wendell Holmes. This volume looks at nature, the great provider of inspiration for writers the world over. Tappan explores the natural references and influences extant in the work of these great American writers while offering her own analyses and explanations. This fascinating volume is not to be missed by those with an interest in American literature and nature writing. Eva March Tappan (1854 – 1930) was an American author and teacher. Other notable works by this author include: “Adventures & Achievements” (1900), “Poems & Rhymes” (1900), and “In the Days of Queen Elizabeth” (1902). Many vintage books such as this are increasingly scarce and expensive. It is with this in mind that we are republishing this volume now in an affordable, modern, high-quality edition complete with a specially-commissioned new biography of the author. This book was first published in 1909.