Outre-Mer A Pilgrimage Beyond the Sea Author:Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Shortly after his marriage in 1831 Longfellow began to publish in the New England Magazine the sketches of travel that afterwards were collected, with the addition of others, and published under the title Outre-Mer in 1835. It was his first independent contribution to American literature, preceded by some text books and translations. Though ... more »often called a novel, Outre-Mer is a long, rambling narrative (of comments on travels in France, Spain & Italy) much more along the lines of Irving's Sketch Book. In its pleasant mingling of the record of personal experience, with essays on literature, translations, and romantic stories, and in the ease and grace of its style, it is a worthy prelude and introduction to his later more important work. Outre-Mer was published the same year that Longfellow's wife died while they were traveling together in Europe. Upon his return to America he took up residence in Cambridge, where he succeeded George Ticknor as Smith Professor of Modern Languages at Harvard.« less