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.
The first of what became four installments of Hospital Sketches was published in the magazine Boston Commonwealth on May 22, 1863.
Later, in book form, it carried the subtitle “An Army Nurse’s True Account of Her Experiences During the Civil War.”
The author, Louisa May Alcott, had spent about six weeks volunteering at a Union hospital outside of Washington, D.C. during the Civil War. Her letters home were the basis of the book.