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.
Author: susanwbailey
My name is Susan Bailey and I find the life of Louisa May Alcott endlessly fascinating. I come from New England (specifically Massachusetts) and my family has been here in one form or another since the 1630′s. I live fairly close to Concord, MA where Orchard House, the homestead of the Alcotts, is located, and visit often. Every few years or so I go on a reading ‘binge’ about Louisa and this time around was so good, I just had to start a blog about my passion. The binge, by the way, still goes on!
I’ve been happily married for over 30 years and my husband is a deacon in the Melkite Church (Eastern Catholic – I am Roman Catholic). We are proud parents of a grown son and daughter.
I’ve worked happily for the last 17 years at Rutledge Properties in Wellesley, MA, supporting the agents in the office.
And in my ‘other life,’ I’ve performed, written and recorded music exploring my Catholic faith. I have a website (www.susanbailey.net) where you can hear samples and find out more about this. I sing at various masses at my home parish of St. Luke the Evangelist in Westboro, MA.
Other interests include history (especially photographic), nature (especially bird watching), and I have the same ‘inordinate love of cats’ that Louisa had. :-)
To be quite honest, I didn’t particularly enjoy Alcott’s Moods, especially when compared to the other works we’ve read so far (much like our beloved Susan Bailey). Moods felt very slow-moving to me, and I did not grow to care as much for the characters as I typically do (and did in “La Jeune” and Behind a Mask). I didn’t dislike Sylvia, but she seemed a bit flat to me, and I didn’t have much of an opinion on which man she should marry (if she chose to marry either). I do think, however, that Moods offers readers an interesting look into Alcott’s own feminist and religious views. During her lifetime, Alcott was an avid supporter of women’s rights, and her spirituality was highly influenced by both the transcendentalist movement and the Unitarian Universalist faith that she and her family practiced.
This week, for my artifact blog, I focused on the blog Louisa May Alcott is My Passion (thanks Rachael!). This blog is a collection of analytical and reflective pieces written by Susan Bailey on the “life, works and legacy of Louisa May Alcott and her family.” According to the blog, Bailey is “an active member and supporter of the Louisa May Alcott Society, the Fruitlands Museum and Louisa May Alcott’s Orchard House.” While I browsed her blog’s many different categories and posts, I also listened to her podcast episode “Beauty in the humblest things,” which stood out to me as it focuses on Louisa May Alcott’s spiritual life (which has its own category on Bailey’s blog!). According to Bailey and her guest, Alcott’s spirituality is characterized by her belonging to the transcendentalist movement – she found beauty in the mundane and everyday, in human beings and human nature…
I am pleased to present this article that was recently published in the Summer 2020 edition of Discover Concord magazine. You can find the article on page 44: https://issuu.com/discoverconcordma/docs/dcsummer20.full_book Here is a tease: "[Scholar Ray Angelo's] most recent project (which is ongoing) pinpoints as many of Henry David Thoreau's place names in Concord and Lincoln, …
How would you like to be the author that finishes a story started by Louisa May Alcott? And be published in a prominent magazine? Read on ... Many of you are probably aware of a story written by then 17-year-old Louisa May Alcott uncovered at the Houghton Library and published in the current issue of …
Have you been longing to tour Orchard house since its closing due to the Covid-19 pandemic? Are you from another part of the country or across the globe, longing to see the inside of the house where Little Women was written? You are in luck! Orchard House is now offering virtual tours led by "Louisa" …
In honor of Women's History Month, I am pleased to present my article as published on BookTrib.com. Here is a teaser - you can read the whole article by clicking on the link below. Louisa May Alcott: Inspiring Women Writers, Rocking the Vote In March of 1880, nineteen women voted for the first time in …
I am pleased to present this guest post by Kristi Lynn Martin, PhD: her review of this novel based on Little Women. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Virginia Kantra’s Meg and Jo: A Contemporary Retelling of Little Women (New York: Berkley, 2019) is a modern retelling …
The Friends of Sleepy Hollow Cemetery are holding their 14th annual Breakfast Event at the Colonial Inn on April 4th, 8:30am to 10am. The featured speaker is Tim Gorman, Location Manager for the Oscar-winning Little Women movie. As you know, it was filmed entirely in MA -- Mr. Gorman will describe the various settings and …
I am happy to share a discovery made by John Matteson, Pulitzer prize-winning author of Eden's Outcasts: The Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Father. My thanks to him for sharing the following photo. John writes, "This is the photograph of Michael C. Lowry, the half-brother of John Suhre. Michael was also killed at …
