Currently in development, this digital edition of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story “The Celestial Railroad” will aim to allow scholars, teachers, and students to follow the rich history of “The Celestial Railroad’s” publication and editing in American periodicals during the 1840s and 50s. This site will provide both images and the text of each printing of the story, highlighting significant amendments or deletions, as well as any editorial introductions appended to the texts. In addition, I hope to build a web version of Juxta into the site, which will allow users to compare the text of reprintings on the fly and draw their own conclusions about the story’s reception and influence.
from the Sunday School Union's reprinting (1844)
As I’m building the edition, I will update this development blog with discoveries, progress reports, and short articles on the technologies I’m using to create the site. Check back for articles on Juxta, online newspaper archives, Google Books, and Omeka.
Please look at my current bibliography for “The Celestial Railroad,” as well as my Articles about the project’s progress, humanities technologies I encounter during development, and more.