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. :-)
A while back I got a recommendation from a reader's blog, A Thing Called Joe, regarding one of Louisa's potboilers, a book so sensational that her publisher, James R. Elliot of The Flag of Our Union refused to run with it! It was meant to be serialized in the magazine like so many of her …
I saw this in Ebay: Got $12,500.00? Go for it - here's the link š Wish I had it . . .<sigh> Are you passionate about Louisa May Alcott too? Send an email to louisamayalcottismypassion@gmail.com to subscribe, and never miss a post! Facebook Louisa May Alcott is My Passion More About Louisa on Twitter
For those of you who feel inclined, I came across this announcement in my email today: American Literature Association 23rd Annual Conference May 24-27, 2012 San Francisco, CA Call for Papers Louisa May Alcott Society After Alcott: Her Influence in the Work of Later Authors As Elaine Showalter observes in her germinal essay, āLittle Women: …
The Girls in the Stack blog posted a great interview with Lauren Baratz-Logsted about her "novel within a novel," Little Women and Me. Sounds like a good read, I'll have to add it to my ever-growing list. Here's a sample of the interview with a link to the rest. Writing a novel that takes place …
A few weeks ago I received an email from a reader (Claire) who lives in Paris, looking for information on where May Alcott Nieriker was buried. After researching it online, I discovered that she was buried at Montrouge CemeteryĀ just outside of Paris. There was a map on the website which I sent to Claire, …
I went to Concord yesterday afternoon full of anticipation at meeting an email friend in person. I've met many such email friends and it's always a thrill. Gabrielle Donnelly, author of The Little Women Letters has become such a friend through stories exchanged about our favorite felines, and our favorite author. Little did I know …
I am very excited to be able to finally meet Gabrielle Donnelly, author of The Little Women Letters. We have been corresponding since last summer and have spoken on the phone. She is doing a presentation at Orchard House tonight in the parlor on her book. I relish the opportunity to spend more than a …
I was flipping through Harriet Reisen's fine book, Louisa May Alcott The Woman Behind Little Women and found this poem by Louisa (on page 112)Ā that she published in her family's weekly newspaper, The Olive Leaf (the real-life version of The Pickwick Papers in Little Women). It so totally described how I feel about my …
I had the very rare opportunity yesterday of actually having 2 hours of free time lining up with beautifully warm weather in the middle of October! I jumped on it. š I grabbed the Sylvia Yule and went down to the local boat launch to take a final kayak trip before the cold weather settles …