Resources for use by Schools, Libraries, and Community Groups
by Linda Stern and Elizabeth Kovacs
Related fields: social studies, history, biography, philosophy, Transcendentalism, Concord, New England/Boston area history, interdisciplinary
Teacher/Facilitator resources
Included here are biographies of Margaret Fuller, books about her that include selections from her writings, and books about 19th century American life. Additional materials listed under Student resources.
Capper, Charles. Margaret Fuller: An American Life, Vol. 1: The Private Years. NY: Oxford U. Pr., 1992.
Capper, Charles. Margaret Fuller: An American Life, Vol. 2: The Public Years. NY: Oxford U. Pr., 2007.
Cott, Nancy. Bonds of Womanhood: Women’s Sphere in New England, 1780-1835. New Haven: Yale Univ. Pr., 2007.
Deiss, Joseph Jay. Roman Years of Margaret Fuller: A Biography. NY: Crowell, 1969.
Hudspeth, Robert, ed. My Heart is a Large Kingdom: Selected Letters of Margaret Fuller. Cornell Univ. Press, 2001.
James, Laurie. Why Margaret Fuller Ossoli is Forgotten. NY: Golden Heritage Pr. Inc., 1988.
Lavender, Catherine J. “The Cult of Domesticity and True Womanhood.” The College of Staten Island/CUNY.
http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu/dept/history/lavender/386/truewoman.html
Marshall, Megan. Peabody Sisters: Three Women Who Ignited American Romanticism. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin, 2005.
Memoirs of Margaret Fuller Ossoli. Edited by Ralph Waldo Emerson, James Freeman Clarke, and William Henry Channing. Original publication: Boston: Philippis, Sampson, 1852. Recent publication: Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan Library, 2005.
Miller, Perry. American Transcendentalists, Their Prose and Poetry. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1981.
Murray, Meg McGavran. Margaret Fuller: Wandering Pilgrim. Athens: Univ. of Georgia Pr., 2008.
Pessen, Edward. Jacksonian America. Chicago: Univ. of Illinois Pr., 1985.
Fuller, Margaret. Edited by Larry J. Reynolds and Susan Belasco Smith. These Sad but Glorious Days: Dispatches from Europe 1846-1850. New Haven: Yale Univ. Pr., 1991.
Student resources (Appropriate for high school students and adults)
Biographies of Margaret Fuller
Blanchard, Paula. Margaret Fuller: From Transcendentalism to Revolution. Addison-Wesley, 1987.
von Mehren, Joan. Minerva and the Muse: A Life of Margaret Fuller. Amherst: Univ. of Mass Pr., 1994.
Books and Articles about Margaret Fuller, some with selections from her writings
Andrews, Barry, ed. The Spirit Leads: Margaret Fuller in Her Own Words. Boston: Skinner House Books, 2010.
Chevigny, Bell Gale. “Ahead of Her Time.” Boston Globe, 7/17/2000. Retrieved 5/18/2011.
Deiss, Joseph Jay. "Rediscovery of Margaret Fuller." Christian Science Monitor, p. 15, 1/21/1974. Retrieved 5/18/2011.
Kornfield, Eve. Margaret Fuller: A Brief Biography with Documents. Boston: Bedford Books, 1997.
Rankin, Jenny. “A Writer, Thinker, and Trailblazer.” Boston Globe, 5/242010.
Steele, Jeffrey, ed. The Essential Margaret Fuller. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Pr., 1992.
Books by Margaret Fuller
These are the four books published during Fuller’s lifetime. Note original publication information and selected recent editions. For some of these books there are many additional editions and some are contained in anthologies. See links to online versions of Fuller texts at www.margaretfuller.org.
Conversations with Goethe in the Last Years of His Life. Translated from the German of Eckermann. Original publication: Boston: Hilliard, Gray, 1839.
Papers on Literature and Art. Original publication: New York: Wiley & Putnam, 1846. Reprinted by AMS Press.
Summer on the Lakes, in 1843. Original publication: Boston: Charles C. Little & James Brown; New York: Charles S. Francis, 1844. Recent edition: With an Introduction by Susan Belasco Smith. Urbana: U. of Ill. Pr., 1991.
Woman in the Nineteenth Century. Original publication: New York: Greeley & McElrath, 1945. Recent publication: Norton Critical Editions, 1997.
Biographical Dictionaries
James, Edward T., James, Janet Wilson; & Boyer, Paul, eds. Notable American Women, 1607-1950: A Biographical Dictionary. Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University, 1971.
Dictionary of Unitarian Universalist Biography
http://www25.uua.org/uuhs/duub/articles/margaretfuller.html
A major entry on Margaret Fuller is included with many links to people she interacted with.
Biographical Resources online about Margaret Fuller
Dictionary of Unitarian Universalist Biography entry on Margaret Fuller: http://www25-temp.uua.org/uuhs/duub/articles/margaretfuller.html
Biographical sketch of Margaret Fuller on Virginia Commonwealth University website: http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/transcendentalism/authors/fuller
Chronology of Margaret Fuller’s Life: http://margaretfuller.org
Text and images from the traveling display “Why Margaret Fuller Matters”: http://www.margaretfuller.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=89&Itemid=144
Websites
American Transcendentalism Web
http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/transcendentalism/authors/fuller
Comprehensive site that includes biographical information, readings, full text of Fuller’s works (including Women in the Nineteenth Century), criticism and links to other Fuller sites.
Boston Women’s Heritage Trail
Some local Boston sites are included that are connected to Margaret Fuller’s life.
Dictionary of Unitarian Universalist Biography
http://www25.uua.org/uuhs/duub/articles/margaretfuller.html
A major entry on Margaret Fuller is included with many links to people she interacted with.
“I Hear America Singing”
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/ihas/fuller.html
Brief written profile of Margaret Fuller, the poet and writer.
Library of Congress / American Memory
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/index.html
The holdings of the Library of Congress on Margaret Fuller are vast. Included are many full text periodical articles from the 19th century.
Margaret Fuller Bicentennial website
There are links to biographies and to online versions of her writings, as well as other resources, including traveling display.
Margaret Fuller Society
http://mendota.english.wisc.edu/~jasteele
This is a very fine academic website on Margaret Fuller, her life, dissertations on her work, research links, and bibliographies, compiled by Jeffery Steele
Mass Moments
http://www.massmoments.org/index.cfm
Margaret Fuller is included in 5 articles
Transcendentalist Spirituality
http://www.transcendentalistspirituality.com
Included is the introduction to author Barry Andrews’ book, The Spirit Leads. Also included are his sermons and photographs.
YouTube Videos
Look up “Margaret Fuller Bicentennial.” There are more than 30 videos. We recommend starting with the following:
Memorial Service: parts 2, 4, 5, 6
Why Margaret Fuller Matters: parts 1, 2, 5
Margaret Fuller in Groton: part 1
A Conversation: Fuller and Poe: parts 3, 4, 5
Look up “Margaret Fuller” and “Laurie James” together: “Who said that?”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jnu1yb50Gwo
Multi-media resources
DVDs
“New England Transcendentalists.” Films for the Humanities & Sciences, 2004; 27 min. While it can be ordered from Films from the Humanities, it may be available through your public library.
“Emerson, Thoreau, and the Transcendentalist Movement.” Ashton Nichols, 30 min. The Teaching Co. The Great Courses [college level]. It may be available through your public library.
Play
Sheldon, Sayre and Agnes Butcher. Margaret Fuller’s Universe. This play is available online at www.margaretfuller.org.
Sheet Music
“New Worlds Manifest,” by Ed Thompson and Laura Lucille Halfvarson; the lyrics were adapted from the writings of Margaret Fuller.
“New World Manifest” melody. (PDF)
http://www.uua.org/documents/mfb/fuller_hymn_new_world_melody.pdf
“New Worlds Manifest” piano and vocal (PDF)
http://www.uua.org/documents/mfb/fuller_hymn_new_world_piano_vocal.pdf
Timeline
Chronology of Margaret Fuller’s life on the Bicentennial website www.margaretfuller.org
Trail Guide
Margaret Fuller’s New England: Where She Lived, Worked, and Visited. Boston: Margaret Fuller Bicentennial Committee, 2010. Available for purchase at http://uuwr.org/new-store/books/221-margaret-fullers-new-england
Traveling Display
“Why Margaret Fuller Matters” is a series of text-and-image panels designed to answer the fundamental question of why this great nineteenth-century figure remains important two centuries after her birth. Ten colorful 24-inch x 18-inch foam core panels include: an introductory panel; brief sketches of her key colleagues; a chronological telling of her life and her views on women’s rights, education (especially female), class, slavery, American Indian rights, religion, Transcendentalism, her world view as a trans-nationalist, and her vision of a just world. Available from the Margaret Fuller Bicentennial Committee for a small fee for shipping and handling fee. Information at www.margaretfuller.org.
Other resources in New England:
See detailed information and additional sites in Margaret Fuller’s New England: Where She Lived, Worked, and Visited. [Trail guide, listed above]
Margaret Fuller Neighborhood House
Ralph Waldo Emerson House
Orchard House
Old Manse
Walden Pond and Thoreau’s Cabin
Mt. Auburn Cemetery
Old Sturbridge Village
Boston Public Library Rare Books and Manuscript Department
