I am so pleased to present this extensive review by Gabrielle Donnelly, author of The Little Women Letters: The first thing to remember when you start to read Jeannine Atkinsā marvelous novel, Little Woman Blue (She Writes Press, September 15), is to forget Amy March. Amy, the spoiled youngest of the March family of Little …
Announcing a musical soundtrack to my upcoming book, āRiver of Graceā!
Iām getting pretty excited; the launch date for River of Grace is a mere 7 weeks away! (It's available now for pre-order on Amazon at a reduced price.) But thereās something else in the works too. Imagine that you are reading River of Grace and you find it really speaks to you. Now imagine that …
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Peeks into May Alcottās Paris
Jeannine Atkins' historical novel on May Alcott called Little Woman in Blue: A Novel of May Alcott is now available from Amazon. She posted a wonderful write-up on May's time in Paris with artist peers such as Mary Cassatt through books she used to research her book. Be sure and order Jeannineās book on Amazon …
“Loves Mankind, Hard on People” – Bronson Alcott, Mr. Keating, and the Dangers of Putting Ideals before Students
This an amazing post from one of our readers, a young educator who spoke for the first time at the Summer Conversational Series this summer. She certainly made me rethink “Dead Poet’s Society,” one of my favorite movies.
I have spent the last week at Louisa May Alcottās Orchard House in Concord, Massachusetts, attending their annual Summer Conversational Series. (As an aside, it is my second year attending the SCS, and itās an amazing experience. If you havenāt been, and you area fan of the Alcottās, transcendentalism, philosophy, or education, you really need to go!)
Anyway, there are SO many things I have taken from this week that I will probably be writing about for a long while. However, there is a certain phrase that stuck with me especially, and is where I will begin the first of many SCS 2015 reflections.
At Thursdayās SCS session, John Matteson, Pulitzer prize-winning author ofĀ Edenās Outcasts, took questions and led discussion on āall things Alcott.ā Bronson Alcott became a subject of conversation here, and he was subject to criticism (as Bronson Alcott seems to always be) forā¦
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Yet another big announcement, and you can be a part of it!
I've been sitting on some pretty exciting news. Along with the release of River of Grace this October, I also have another book in the works, commissioned by a different publisher. And this one is all about Louisa May Alcott! The book will be launched in January of 2016. The publisher is ACTA; this book …
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Louisa May Alcott as grief counselor (on the fifth anniversary of this blog)
My obsession with Louisa played out in a rather odd way. Never a big reader until a few years ago, Iād find myself reading a biographical account of Louisaās life (rather than read her own words) every few years. This began after reading Martha Saxtonās biography. After the reading (usually done during the autumn months) …
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Why are you obsessed with Louisa? Why am I?
I pondered that question during the two years spent writing my book, River of Grace. Because Louisa was an important part of this book, I had to figure out first, why I was obsessed with her, and second, how she has acted as my grief counselor, and as a result, guiding me back into my …
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Louisa’s first letter in honor of her baby sister – original handwritten letter from the Houghton Library
I visited the Houghton Library in mid July and was greeted with the most wonderful surprise: Houghton is now granting permission to post the actual handwritten letters from the Alcott family! I can't tell you how excited I am to be able to share these letters with you! I have photographed probably over a hundred …
New book in the works on Little Women
Anne Boyd Rioux, author and a member of the Louisa May Alcott Society, has just been given a grant to write her new book called Reading Little Women.: The History of an American Classic. As you will see from her post, she was quoted in a recent article in the Washington Post about making scholarly …
Recent discovery of Thoreau’s notes sheds light on tragic drowning of Margaret Fuller
The Houghton Library at Harvard University has acquired the complete set of notes made by Henry David Thoreau as he visited the site of Margaret Fuller's drowning along with her husband and little son aboard the steamship Elizabeth. Here is a teaser from the article, published in the Harvard Gazette: A recent Houghton Library acquisition …
Louisa May Alcott is My Passion 