This collection of essays was first published in book form in 1878. Warner’s main theme is the small, often ludicrous figure of the human being in the wilderness. His urbane satire is often directed at the tourists who were beginning to flock to the Adirondacks. He also appeals to the sensibilities of his readers, then and now. And in dead pan worthy of his friend Mark Twain, he frequently pulls the reader’s leg. Warner’s love of nature, combined with his humour and social satire, make In the Wilderness as good a read now as it was more than a century ago.