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. :-)
From the Louisa May Alcott Society, posted by Aryssa Damron: I just nominated Louisa May Alcott as part of an initiative between the U.S. Mint and the National Women's History Museum to put prominent American Women on circulating coins! It was announced today that Maya Angelou and Sally Ride will be some of the first …
Knowing how busy everyone is, we have developed an easier format for you to use when submitting your entries for the project "Alcott's Hidden Critics: The Secret Reviews of Little Women." Using the new Google Form allows you to upload your entry directly to us, without having to generate an email. You will need a …
The Spring 2021 issue of Discover Concord magazine features all the details of my current project with Lorraine Tosiello in unearthing and archiving personal references to Little Women in diaries, journals, school projects, blog posts, fan fiction, etc. Here is the link: Discover Concord Spring 2021 - see pages 56-57. We are accepting submissions now …
I am pleased to announce a partnership with independent Alcott scholar and author Lorraine Tosiello for a fantastic new project known as āAlcottās Hidden Critics: The Secret Reviews of Little Women.ā Through this unique and important undertaking, we seek to locate and collect reader responses to Little Women over its 150-year history and archive them …
This is a series of scenes that I wrote for fun a few years ago. Sometimes I wish I didnāt work so slowly! I hope I stay healthy long enough to write a novel as well as a biography. I really love taking Lizzieās point of view and seeing life as I imagine it through her eyes. But I can always write scenes. š
This is the first draft.
Memories of Father
My first memory was of his face. It was a kind face with blue eyes like still pools, and I could see myself in them. Such a sweet countenance, one I could look at from morning till night. It broke into a smile, and a quiet voice spoke my name: āElizabeth.ā My arms shot up in an instant, hoping he would lift me.Ā He granted my wish, and as I snuggled close to his chest, he looked intoā¦
Two sisters, Taylor and Victoria, discover an old manuscript of poems tucked away behind a wall on the site of Louisa May Alcottās Orchard House in Concord, MA. The mysterious woman, who wrote the lines over 150 years ago, shared a strong connection with Alcott. The poet would never know the life-changing influence of her …
You may recall late last June that The Strand published an unfinished story written by then 17-year-old Louisa May Alcott uncovered at the Houghton Library. The story left us dangling! The contest is now on to finish the story! Looking for writers The managing editor of The Strand, Andrew Gulli, is inviting writers to finish …
John Matteson did not win the Pulitzer Prize for his first book, Eden's Outcasts: The Story of Louisa May Alcott and her Father, simply because he wrote a good biography. At the time, Eden's Outcasts was an ambitious effort of a dual biography, exploring the lives of daughter and father while also analyzing their …