The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 17, No. 101, March, 1866: A Magazine of Literature, Science, Art, and Politics

In Short

This mid-nineteenth-century issue of The Atlantic Monthly gathers an eclectic mix of regional sketches, political analysis, serialized fiction, and travel writings from some of the era's most prominent thinkers. Within its pages, Nathaniel Hawthorne rambles through Maine, an escaped slave recounts his perilous flight along the Underground Railroad, and naturalists explore the Amazonian basin. Between these anchor pieces, contributors debate women’s labor, chronicle the opening of the Western frontier, and track romantic rivalries in English manors. The volume remains a vital historical capsule, capturing a transforming culture through its original literary and social commentary.

The Story

The volume opens with the posthumous notebook entries of Nathaniel Hawthorne, detailing his 1837 summer travels across Maine. He writes of fishing trips, rural taverns, local eccentrics, and the ruined estates of Revolutionary War generals, observing human nature with a quiet, sharp eye. Following these reflective observations, the issue transitions to rigorous scientific and philosophical musings on human physical appetite, framing digestion as an intricate mechanism that reflects the broader material world.

The prose then shifts abruptly to the stark realities of American history. A powerful first-person narrative details the aftermath of the Christiana Riot and the brutal operations of the Fugitive Slave Law. The narrator describes the terrifying hunt by slaveholders, his perilous escape alongside fellow fugitives through Pennsylvania towns, and the covert networks of abolitionist allies who shelter them under the cover of night as they journey toward freedom.

Broadening the reader's horizons, a travel essay recounts a scientific expedition along the Amazon basin. The authors navigate narrow river channels, observe the local wildlife, and contrast the outdoor independence of Indigenous women with the restricted, cloistered lives of Brazilian townswomen. Meanwhile, essayists turn their sights to the rapidly expanding Western frontier, offering data-driven surveys of the gold fields, agricultural valleys, and trade routes across Montana and the Pacific Northwest, predicting an unstoppable surge of American settlement.

Interspersed throughout are creative and social critiques. A poignant poem reflects on grief and the unyielding tides of the ocean after a maritime tragedy. In "The Chimney-Corner," an essayist argues passionately for the dignity of women's domestic labor, advocating for practical education and household management over passive, delicate helplessness. Another narrative piece tells the somber story of Chloe, an enslaved mother finding quiet joy in her child amid surrounding hardship. The magazine's serialized novel, Charles Reade's Griffith Gaunt, reaches a dramatic peak as romantic rivalries, inheritance disputes, and societal pressures collide at an English country house. Finally, the issue concludes with critical reviews of contemporary books, evaluating works on industrial engineering and popular religious fiction.

How It Unfolds

The New England wanderings Hawthorne travels through Maine, sketching vivid portraits of backwoods anglers, tavern patrons, and forgotten local history with understated precision.

The anatomy of taste A philosophical piece explores the mechanics of human hunger and thirst, contrasting brutal animal appetite with the refined, deliberate pleasures of civilized dining.

The flight to freedom An escaped slave recounts his dangerous trek across Pennsylvania, avoiding slave catchers and finding refuge through a brave, clandestine network of abolitionists.

The Amazonian expedition Travelers navigate the tributaries of the Rio Negro, documenting exotic wildlife and observing the stark social differences between Indigenous and aristocratic Brazilian women.

The Western horizon An essay details the economic promise of the Montana territory, surveying its rich gold mines, fertile river valleys, and expanding wagon routes.

The domestic mantle A columnist defends the value of practical female education, arguing that domestic mastery and useful work build true strength and lasting character.

The romantic entanglement In the serialized fiction, Griffith Gaunt and his rival jockey for the hand of Kate Peyton amid social intrigue and tense family maneuvers.

The critical desk The issue wraps up with reviews of recent publications, evaluating biographical histories of inventors alongside popular contemporary novels.

The People

• Nathaniel Hawthorne: The introspective narrator of the opening notebooks, who observes Maine's rustic citizens, tavern proprietors, and natural landscapes with keen curiosity.
• The Escaped Freedman (Parker): A brave, resolute man fleeing the clutches of slaveholders under the Fugitive Slave Law, determined to protect his family and reach safety.
• The Agassiz Expedition Party: A group of naturalists and Brazilian officials exploring the Amazon's waterways, comparing local cultures and studying unexplored environments.
• Chloe: A resilient woman who finds profound solace and maternal devotion in her young son despite a life shaped by hardship and isolation.
• Kate Peyton: The sharp, high-spirited heroine of the serialized novel, navigating the unwelcome marriage demands of her father and church authorities while managing two competing suitors.
• Griffith Gaunt: A headstrong suitor whose reckless behavior and intense rivalry for Kate's affection drive the dramatic tension of the serial.

In Its Own Voice

"The fish caught were the yellow perch, which are not esteemed for eating; the white perch, a beautiful, silvery, round-backed fish, which bites eagerly, runs about with the line while being pulled up, makes good sport for the angler, and an admirable dish..."

Hawthorne notes the simple, satisfying details of a quiet day spent angling in a Maine pond.

"Under the pretext of enforcing the Fugitive Slave Law, the slaveholders did not hesitate to violate all other laws made for the good government and protection of society, and converted the old State of Pennsylvania, so long the hope of the fleeing bondman, wearied and heartbroken, into a common hunting-ground for their human prey."

The narrator exposes the ruthless reach of slavery enforced across northern borders.

"So ever toward the setting sun the course of empire takes its way,--not the empire of despotism, but of life, liberty,--of civilization and the Christian religion."

An essayist captures the era's boundless, optimistic rhetoric regarding Western expansion.

What It's Really About

At its core, this issue captures a society in transition, wrestling with the meaning of freedom, progress, and identity in the immediate aftermath of the Civil War. Across disparate subjects—from the practical escape routes of the Underground Railroad to arguments for women’s domestic self-reliance—the writing repeatedly examines individual autonomy against structural forces. It contrasts the raw, untamed wilderness of the Amazon and the American West with the refined, often stifling expectations of traditional society. Beneath its literary polish, the magazine asks how a re-knit nation should balance industrial expansion, moral duty, scientific curiosity, and cultural growth as it moves into a new era.

Why Read It Today

This issue offers a rare, unfiltered window into the intellectual bloodstream of Reconstruction-era America. Readers who enjoy literary history will appreciate seeing iconic figures like Hawthorne and Agassiz sharing space with urgent, real-time political narratives and period fiction. The prose carries the rhythmic, expansive cadence of the nineteenth century, demanding a measured reading pace.

While modern readers may find the unabashed rhetoric of Western expansionism or period views on gender somewhat archaic, these elements ground the text in its authentic historical moment. The collection succeeds because it does not read like a polished history textbook; instead, it presents the raw, immediate thoughts of writers actively trying to make sense of their world. It leaves you with a deep appreciation for the literary craftsmanship and social debates that shaped nineteenth-century American thought.