Eight Cousins: the value of fatherhood

Greetings to the Poet's Corner Virtual Book Club: Eight Cousins Eight Cousins (or The Aunt-Hill) introduces us to a new kind of heroine from Louisa May Alcott. Rose, blond and blue-eyed, comes from wealth. In past stories, it’s been the wealthy girls who have proven to be the antagonists (Sallie Moffat from Little Women, Fanny …

Louisa May Alcott Goes to War (from the Weider History Group)

Eager to support the North, the budding author volunteered for a fledgling corps of female nurses By Robert Sattelmeyer Published Online: January 30, 2012 historynet.com For generations of Americans, Louisa May Alcott has been revered as the author of Little Women (1868), the semi-autobiographical novel about four sisters living in Concord, Massachusetts, while their father …

Referrals in Louisa’s journal to Little Women

Following up on Jillian's post, I thought it would be fun to look back on journal entries that Louisa made that directly correlate with Little Women. I found these in Little Women (Norton Critical Edition) edited by Gregory Eiselein and Anne K. Phillips; the page citations come from this book. Note the comments Louisa makes …

Introducing the Poet’s Corner Virtual Book Club

Following up on a reader's suggestion (thanks to Sarah), I am introducing a new feature on Louisa May Alcott is My Passion, the Poet's Corner Virtual Book Club. How the Poet's Corner Virtual Book Club works I will announce the book I plan on reading. You can join in a group read by adding a …

Personalizing Louisa through the reading of Little Women

Responding to my request, I am pleased to present a guest post by Jillian author of the A Room of One's Own blog. Jillian is exploring the classics and using her blog as a journal, sharing her reactions and insight. As a new student to the classics, I depend heavily on Jillian's blog to guide …

Louisa’s calling card

I just found an article from the Rauner Library Blog from Dartmouth College detailing the story behind the calling card. The article features the calling cards of such luminaries as Louisa May Alcott, Mark Twain, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Charles Dickens among others. These cards all have pictures. I never knew anything about the nature of …

At a crossroads – here’s where you come in

I need your help. I'm stuck. I can't figure where next to take this blog and I could use your suggestions. Which direction should this blog go next? What road do you want this blog to take? sourceĀ Ā ā€œ(C) by http://www.martin-liebermann.deā€ What are you eager to learn more about? Post your suggestions and I will consider …

The art of conversation, Bronson-style

Through his illustrious life, Bronson Alcott used many means to preach and teach his unique message of transcendentalism. In the early part of his career he used his gifts as a teacher to educate the young through the art of conversation (see previous post). As he believed the Divine resided in each child, he sought …

What were Bronson Alcott’s educational reforms? Here’s a simpler approach

From time to time I have posted about Bronson Alcott, mainly from my reading of Eden’s Outcasts: The Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Father by John Matteson. I had been wanting to find a simpler explanation of Bronson's educational reforms; they were considered quite radical in his day but over time became incorporated …

Complete list of stories from the Aunt Jo’s Scrap-Bag series

Aunt Jo's Scrap-Bag is a collection of short stories, mostly for children, that Louisa wrote in the 1880s (including stories from her grand tour of Europe with younger sister May). While none of the stories have anything to do with Little Women, the publisher obviously was banking on the title drawing in lots of buyers …