Longfellow wrote the book to help him cope with his wife's death. She died at home. She was standing in front of a fireplace. Her skirt caught fire. Longfellow visited the real tavern in 1862. It was called the Red Horse Tavern at that time. It was closed because the owner had died the year before. Longfellow said it was "a rambling, tumble-down building". Two more books about the Wayside Inn were published. One book was published in 1870, and other in 1872.