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 1630ā²s. 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 ābingeā 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!
Iāve been happily married for over 30 years and my husband is a deacon in the Melkite Church (Eastern Catholic ā I am Roman Catholic). We are proud parents of a grown son and daughter.
Iāve worked happily for the last 17 years at Rutledge Properties in Wellesley, MA, supporting the agents in the office.
And in my āother life,ā Iāve 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 āinordinate love of catsā that Louisa had. :-)
I wanted to share with you a beautiful essay on Little Men from Crisis Magazine. The author of the piece, Mitchell Kalpakgian was himself a professor of English at Simpson College in Iowa for 31 years and certainly understands the special role of teachers, and the rich gift of a good one. Here is a …
We return to a discussion of Work: A Story of Experience where chapter 7, "Through the Mist" marks a turning point in Christie's life. It is also a powerful and penetrating look inside the author who herself experienced a similar turning point. After numerous attempts to find meaningful work that she could sustain, and after …
Here is a video I found of Susan Cheever discussing her book, Louisa May Alcott A Personal Biography: Click to Tweet & Share: Watch Susan Cheever discuss her book, Louisa May Alcott A Personal Biography http://wp.me/p125Rp-1eY Are you passionate about Louisa May Alcott too? Send an email to louisamayalcottismypassion@gmail.com to subscribe, and never miss a …
I am pleased to present a beefed up Louisa May Alcott is My Passion with a sleek new look and greater functionality. With two years' worth of content, it gets hard to find what you want. I know. I often couldn't find what I wanted! I have, therefore, created a menu system that gives you …
I have long maintained that Louisa's most poignant writing revolves around death as evidenced in Beth March's passing inĀ Little Women and John Suhre's noble death in Hospital Sketches. Recently I found a blog post on the SevenPonds site that states so eloquently the very thoughts I've harbored about Louisa's insights into death - that it …
Last week I was invited to be interviewed by the Extreme Writers Now forum on Blogtalk radio. The interview took place on Sunday night and we had a free-for-all discussing Louisa's works and legacy. It was great fun and I was honored to be a part of it. You can listen to the interview here …
How did May Alcott get away with so much? In 1868, she joined her sister Louisa in Boston to teach an art class. Louisa had just secured her position as editor of Merryās Museum. She was 35 and May, 27. Line of intrigue Madeleine Stern wrote a rather intriguing line about May that sparked the …
Before I begin, thank you for your part in the extraordinarily successful launch of my new blog, Be As One: A Single Flow ⦠The stats were encouraging and thatās a massive understatement! Thank you. Involvement in my new blog dampened my passion for Louisa but only temporarily. It only takes reading a page or …
I am pleased to announce a new blog, Be As One, conceived and realized because of this blog. Inspiration You may recall a previous post where I shared how Louisa May Alcott had inspired me to write and I unveiled an ebook essay, "Game-Changer". Since writing that essay, I have felt the pull more and …
Think the best way to "know" Louisa is through her stories? Some think her poetry is more revealing. I discovered a wonderful post exploring Louisa's poetry by teacher and writer KarenTBTEN on Squidoo. She opens her post with the following: Who was Louisa May Alcott? In the introduction to The Poems of Louisa May Alcott, …