whipple was a close friend of nathaniel hawthorne. after hawthorne's death in 1864, whipple served as a pallbearer for his funeral alongside amos bronson alcott, ralph waldo emerson, james thomas fields, oliver wendell holmes, sr., and henry wadsworth longfellow. whipple's close relationship with other boston-area authors occasionally tinted his reviews. edward emerson later noted, "no other member of the saturday club has ever been more loyally felicitous in characterizing the literary work of his associates."