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.
In pulling together my research for my biography on Elizabeth Alcott, I found the need to comb through Richard Herrnstadtās enormous volume containing the vast majority of Bronson Alcottās letters.* It requires a great deal of time to go through anything related to Bronson not only because of the amount of pages but because of …
Continue reading "The rise and fall of Bronson Alcott, in his own words"
From the LW150 blog: "Little Faithful:" The cost of ambition; the cost of faithfulness
Remember that phrase from "Peanuts" by Charles Schulz - "Happiness is"? Happiness is ... spending the afternoon perusing in-depth articles on the Alcotts. Pages and pages of articles by the finest Alcott scholars covering a wide variety of topics. All of these can be found on jstor.org. You do not have to be affiliated with …
from the LW150 blog: Reading old family letters, whether from our own ancestors or the Alcott family, creates powerful connections.
By Jean Stevenson
My introduction to Little Women came when I was eleven and ābetweenā books and my regular visit to the public library. My mother rescued me by handing me her copy of the novel, saying, āI was your age when I read this. You might enjoy it.ā Like many readers, I found myself captivated by Jo and the March family. My reading of Alcottās novel coincided with a unit on the Civil War in school, so Joās account of the home front, her fatherās service to the Union Army as a chaplain, and Marmeeās travel to Washington to care for him when he fell ill became real to me and further fueled my interest in the Civil War.
This led me to explore the trunks in my grandparentsā attic in search of evidence of family involvement in the war. On the top tray in a trunk I cameā¦
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From the LW150 blog: Was the selling of her hair a defiant act by Jo? Interesting take on Chapter 15.
By Ashley Cook
In the fall of 2006, I enrolled in an American survey course; one of the selections on our course list was Little Women. I had no idea when I picked up that used Norton Critical Edition in the campus bookstore what a place Alcottās writing would have in my life. Her words provided inspiration for a Maid of Honor toast during a friendās weddingāthankfully my friend married before she became a āhaggard, worn, and moody woman of thirtyāāwhile Eight Cousins became the foundation for my Masterās Project. Some might view Alcottās work as moral guidance for the young, but I see in it resistance and a desire to change the status quoāa bit of āsticking it to the man,ā if you will.
Within the pages of āA Telegramā is a scene that remains etched in my mind even years after my first reading of Little Women
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From the Concord Free Public Library: Engaging and informative lecture by Professor John Matteson for the Concord Festival of Authors, celebrating the 150th anniversary of the publication of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women! Be sure to check out the full lecture here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xwSshdEfWo
Dr. Cathlin Davis, a perennial favorite at the Summer Conversational Series gave a sermon at her church about Little Women! A rare discussion about the religious element of the Louisa May Alcott classic. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKRddg9-TLM
From the LW150 blog: Lovely thoughts on growing up, from Chapter XIV, “Secrets.”
By Jacinta Mioni
It was just another sweltering June afternoon in Kansas, the summer between my fifth and sixth grades, when I happened upon a shelf in my local public library dedicated to the works of Louisa May Alcott. The rest of that summer vacation was spent in the air conditioning, immersed in the lives of Alcottās characters. Thirteen years later, you can imagine how my breathe quite literally caught in my throat when I saw the course listing for English 720 at K-State, a class dedicated solely to the creator of my childhood heroes and heroines, of whom I was particularly fond of the March sisters. Of course, I enrolled in the class immediately and I want to give you a little peek into our classroom and its many lively discussions.
A theme that has resurfaced several times in our consideration of Little Women, and one that fascinatesā¦
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Did the real-life Amy know Laurie? Apparently so, and they were good friends! How do we know? Through a stash of letters at the Houghton Library from May Alcott to Alfred Whitman. Who was Laurie based upon? Alf is one of two boys on whom Laurie from Little Women was based (the other being Louisa's …
from LW 150 blog: Dreaming of “castles in the air” and where they may lead us.
By Angela Hubler
āWouldnāt it be fun if all castles in the air which we could make could come true and we could live in them?ā says Jo, in chapter 13, āCastles in the Air.ā Jo thus encourages utopian dreaming, not only by Laurie and her sisters but by generations of readers, revealing why this text has been a touchstone for artistic and ambitious women for 150 years. Laurie and the March girls express their heartsā desires, and as the novel progresses each sister achievesāat least to some degreeā what she has pined and labored for: Meg is mistress of the ālovely house, full ofā¦pleasant peopleā; Jo writes books āout of a magic inkstandā; Beth remains āat home safe with father and motherā until she flies in at āthat splendid gateā; and Amy goes to Rome and develops her talents as an artist.
Of course, generations of critics have arguedā¦
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