During the mid-19th century America was undergoing unprecedented change. New railroads and canals allowed people and goods to criss-cross the country, as the old agrarian economy was replaced by a fast-paced industrialised one. This rapid market expansion was driven by profit and underpinned by slavery.

As the lives of Americans began to speed up, Henry David Thoreau took time out to ask himself a question - is this the best way to live? In 1845, when he was 27 years old, he built a one-roomed cabin next to Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts, and began an experiment in what he called ‘living deliberately’.

During the two years he spent at Walden Pond, Thoreau lived simply. He studied, read widely, went for long walks, and often just sat and contemplated the natural world around him. The journal he kept during the two years he lived in his microhouse would become Walden, a genre-defying mix of memoir, essay, nature diary, philosophical treatise and self-help guide. The book was not an immediate success but steadily grew in popularity after Thoreau’s early death at the age of 44. Walden is now regarded as a foundational work of both American literature and Transcendentalist philosophy. It has been continuously in print since 1862.

John Yorke has worked in television and radio for over 30 years and shares his experience as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories dramatised in BBC Radio 4’s Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless. He created the BBC Writers Academy and trained a generation of screenwriters - now with thousands of hours of television to their names. His acclaimed books Into the Woods and Trip to the Moon explore the structure and power of narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of storytelling, including many podcasts for R4.

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A Pier production for BBC Radio 4