Henry Ward Beecher, Norwood, Or Village Life in New England (1868) Rare 1st Ed

Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887), the Brooklyn Congregationalist minister, Abolitionist, social reformer and writer, was called "the most famous man in America" in the 1860s. One of a large family of celebrity siblings that included Harriet Beecher Stowe (author of Uncle Tom's Cabin) and educational reformer Catherine Beecher, Henry Ward Beecher was perhaps the most influential minister in the mid-19th century. During the Civil War he penned a series of sketches for the New York Ledger about a fictional New England village. In 1868 these sketches were revised and published as this novel, Norwood, to great critical acclaim. This is a rare 1st Edition hardback in Good condition with tight binding and clean unmarked pages. The boards have some corner bumping and the cloth cover has some fraying on the spine. There is a good bit of dust on the edges of the paper, and some light tanning. Smoke-free home. See all photos carefully to judge the condition.