John Abraham Heraud was an English reformer and an associate of
James Pierrepont Greaves. He edited a periodical, the
New Monthly Magazine, which concerned itself with educational reform and English reform movements, such as Chartism and Owenism. Additionally, he was a poet and a student of German ideas. His magazine included numerous literary essays, poetry, and articles on German philosophy.
Amos Bronson Alcott was so impressed by the
New Monthly Magazine that he called it “the flower of current literature in Europe.”
Heraud held Alcott in high esteem as well. He commended Alcott for putting into practice the sentiments of
Wordsworth and
Coleridge on childhood and praised him for his “lofty ideas of man.” Heraud contributed to Alcott’s belief that the 1840s were to be an era of extraordinary revolutionary change—not just in Boston but internationally. Heraud emphasized the integrity of the individual, the need for honest men to withdraw from corrupt institutions and social structures, and the critical importance of education. His influence encouraged Alcott to begin his own utopian community,
Fruitlands, in 1843.