The Outermost House, now considered a Cape Cod nature literary classic, was written after Beston spent what he called "a year of life on the Great Beach of Cape Cod". Spiritually shaken by his experiences in World War I, Beston retreated to the outer beach at Eastham in search of peace and solitude.
"Nature is part of our humanity, and without some awareness of that divine mystery man ceases to be man," Beston wrote.
Beston, who dedicated himself as a "writer/naturalist", is considered one of the fathers of the modern environmental movement, and The Outermost House has been called one of the motivating factors behind the establishment of the Cape Cod National Seashore. Author Rachel Carson said that Beston was the only author who ever influenced her writing.
The 20x16 house, dubbed "the Fo'castle" by Beston, was built by Eastham carpenter Harvey Moore in the late spring of 1925. Beston stayed there, on and off, for about two years, leaving the beach occasionally, but was usually on the beach for the many severe storms that struck the Cape in the winter. His house was located two miles south of the Nauset Coast Guard Station, with the Atlantic Ocean near his front door and Nauset Marsh behind him. His only neighbors were the Coast Guard officers, who patrolled the beach.
The Outermost House was published in 1928, and has gone through dozens of printings since then. An audiobook version was released in 2007.
Read more about this topic: Henry Beston