Louisa May Alcott is My Passion
Begun in 2010, this blog offers analysis and reflection by Susan Bailey on the life, works and legacy of Louisa May Alcott and her family. Susan is an active member and supporter of the Louisa May Alcott Society, the Fruitlands Museum and Louisa May Alcott's Orchard House.
Here’s an interesting article about Dorothea Dix, the powerhouse behind the organizatio of women nurses for the Civil War (the first time women were allowed to serve as nurses). Louisa May Alcott served under Dix: “ . . . Thirty-year-old Louisa May Alcott, the author of Little Women who nursed at Union Hospital in Washington, …
Continue reading "Why Louisa May Alcott has Dorothea Dix to thank for her nursing career"
My book arrived yesterday in the mail and I was so happy to have it back in my library! I look forward to reading this book. It seems so appropriate to have an 85 year-old copy of a book with the title, An Old-Fashioned Girl. I've assembled all the illustrations into a slide show; they …
I found something wonderful today and it makes up for something dumb that I did last year, before I started this blog, and before I knew just how passionate I was about Louisa May Alcott. My sister, brother and I spent last spring cleaning out our parents' house and in the course of things, we …
Note: the following post is based upon the introduction to Fruitlands: The Alcott Family and Their Search for Utopia by Richard Francis, pages 2-11). Anything that has been italicized is my own conclusion, not Francis'. I will be including thoughts that I have as it relates to my understanding of Christianity and how it relates …
Continue reading "The essence of Fruitlands: a return to the Garden of Eden"
Talk about jumping off a cliff! That's what I feel like I've done with Richard Francis' Fruitlands: The Alcott Family and Their Search for Utopia . I wanted to learn more about Transcendentalism and feel like I'm practically drowning in it. But oh is it ever interesting! Disclaimer: I am writing as a student, just …
Continue reading "Diving into Transcendentalism via Fruitlands"
Here's an article from Boston.com about the upcoming celebration of Orchard House's 100th birthday as a moment to the Alcott family: By Sarah Thomas, Town Correspondent The Louisa May Alcott Memorial Association is celebrating its centennial anniversary, marking 100 years since the group formed to purchase and restore the beloved Concord author's home of Orchard …
Continue reading "More information about Orchard House’s centennial celebration"
Check out this industrious teenager! Theresa Schafer, a midwest 10th grade student, has developed a one woman play highlighting the life of Amos Bronson Alcott and his contributions to education. Teresa plays Louisa and has done exhaustive research on her subject using primary sources. She aims to show how one person can make a difference. …
1. What inspired you to write a fictional account of Lidian and Waldo Emerson? It took me a long time to decide to write a nocel about Lidian and Waldo. At first, I just had a lot of questions about Lidian, especially about why she was relatively absent from so many biographies of her husband, …
Continue reading "An interview with Amy Belding Brown, author of Mr. Emerson’s Wife"
Try this fun quiz - it's trickier than you think! Little Women quiz
I just ordered a bunch of new books and needed to rearrange my book shelves to get everything to fit. In the midst of the rearranging, I pulled out my copy of The Alcotts Biography of a Family and discovered a promotional photo of the author, Madelon Bedell, and an interview released by the publisher’s …
Louisa May Alcott is My Passion 