My presentation on the life of Louisa May Alcott

I am pleased to present this 54 minute video presentation on my interpretation of the life of Louisa May Alcott, as told through her family.  As there would be no Jo March as we know her without Marmee, Mr. March, Meg, Beth, and Amy, there would be no Louisa May Alcott without Bronson, Abigail, Anna, …

Six women writers (including Louisa May Alcott) and their journeys as writers on film

There is a wonderful film online featuring the stories of six prominent women writers (including Louisa May Alcott, of course!. It is called Behind a Mask: Six Women Finding a Space to Write. Here is the summary from the website, Films on Demand Digital Educational Video: Behind a Mask: Six Women Finding a Space to …

Getting to know the women who discovered Louisa’s alias as A. M. Barnard

I discovered a wonderful article about Madeleine Stern and Leona  Rostenberg in a journal for the Independent Online Bookseller's Association. This group, the IOBA, features articles about antiquarian (aka old) book collectors and sellers. Rostenberg and Stern are best known for their discovery of Louisa May Alcott's secret life as A. M. Barnard. Under that …

The American Library Association Louisa May Alcott Project: A DVD and Book Start a Movement

In May of 1868, a publisher asked an author to write a book specifically targeted "for girls." His plan was twofold: to capitalize on this up-and-coming author's growing popularity, and to capture a corner of a brand new genre of children's literature. The author begrudgingly obliged, and ended up producing one of the best selling, …

“Pauline’s Passion and Punishment”

I'm currently reading chapter 6 in Susan Cheever's book, Louisa May Alcott A Personal Biography which focuses on the years of 1863-65 when Louisa would serve as a nurse in the Civil War, and taste her first literary successes. Louisa had been writing her "blood and thunder" tales to earn money for "the pathetic family" …