One year old today! Celebrating with a special gift for you!

I recently watched again the PBS film Louisa May Alcott The Woman Behind Little WomenĀ  and thoroughly enjoyed it.Ā  To see Louisa portrayed on the small screen is just as thrilling as ever. This reminded me of how I started my blog 1 year ago today after reading the book. What a wonderful year it …

Simple, sweet and timeless

I found a lovely poem that Louisa May Alcott wrote that perfectly reflects the successful formula she used in writing forĀ  children. She may have disdainfully considered it "moral pap" and only wrote it to make money, but when I read something like this, a very reassuring voice comes through the simple tale and time-tested …

Louisa May Alcott part of study on women authors and domesticity

I found a wonderful article about a book featuring Louisa May Alcott and 3 other women authors in a study on American women authors' domesticity. Here is an excerpt from the article - the link is at the end of the excerpt so you can read the whole article: Newswise — Brooklyn, NY -- The …

And the winners are . . .

Thank you for the GREAT response to my book giveaway of Gabrielle Donnelly's The Little Women Letters. Your comments were just wonderful! You'll be happy to know that Gabrielle has agreed to guest blog again in the future as time allows. And the winners are . . . Janine Hopewell Donna Kindberg-Perron Congratulations! I will …

Guest blogger Gabrielle Donnelly (author of The Little Women Letters) shares the meaning of sisterhood. Plus, a book giveaway – Win The Little Women Letters!

I am pleased to present a guest blog by the author of The Little Women Letters, Gabrielle Donnelly. Recently I reviewed this fine book and had a chance to talk with Gabrielle via email about it. I was intrigued by her biography where it stated that she had no sisters but in fact had 4 …

Why no book displaying May Alcott Nieriker’s paintings?

I'm on vacation this week and no vacation is complete without another tour of Orchard House, this time with a friend who has never been there before. I must say, I am always impressed at how knowledgeable the guides are at Orchard House. I've been there numerous times and always learn something new! Today I …

Marmee, the Mother of Little Women

Thanks to the advice of a reader (much appreciated, Gina!), I've started reading Marmee, the Mother of Little Women by Sandford Meddick Salyor. Certainly you cannot look at the life of Louisa May Alcott without looking at her parents. There are plenty of works on Bronson but not that much on Abba ("Marmee").Ā  This 1949 …

Coming to Concord this summer? Here’s some recommendations

I just created a page with personal recommendations of places to visit and things to do while visiting Concord, Massachusetts. The one thing I could not recommend is hotels because I live too close to Concord to have stayed overnight. Here's some recommendations for those of you who want to indulge in living history (to …

Book review: The Little Women Letters captures the essence of Alcott in the here and now

Sigh. Another good friend to bid adieu to. That's how I felt when I finished The Little Women Letters by Gabrielle Donnelly. I became very attached to the London-based Atwater sisters (Emma, Lulu and Sophie) and their family and friends and appreciated the guiding hand of "Grandma Jo," aka Jo March from Louisa May Alcott's …

The core of Louisa May Alcott’s feminism explains her timelessness

After writing yesterday's post on Polly's modern sensibilities, I thought about what Louisa May Alcott's core belief was which motivated her feminism, and why she was so effective in imparting it. Autonomy My conclusion? Louisa's feminism was based on autonomy - the right of every woman to be autonomous,Ā  the freedom for each woman to …