Sophia Elizabeth Thoreau

Sophia Elizabeth Thoreau (June 24, 1819 – October 7, 1876) was an American editor. As the sister of Henry David Thoreau and his close collaborator, she was responsible for the posthumous publication of many of his well-known works.

Life The original title page of Walden was drawn by Sophia Thoreau.

Sophia Thoreau was born in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, on June 24, 1819, the youngest of four children in the Thoreau family. Sophia attended Phoebe Wheeler's dame school and Concord Academy, where she studied Latin. She was an active supporter of abolitionism and various other causes. Sophia was also known as an artist, gardener, naturalist, and teacher. After Henry David Thoreau died in 1862, Sophia Thoreau served as the primary editor of his posthumously published works, Excursions (1863), The Maine Woods (1864), Cape Cod (1865), and A Yankee in Canada (1866).