Our friend Jillian wrote an incredible post on her blog, A Room of One's Own about Fruitlands and its cast of characters and she called it "Fruity Fruitlands - an Alcott Family Utopia". I can't add any words to this, it's that good. Check it out.
Black and white line drawings in the 1880 version of Little Women
In response to a reader's question about line drawings in an older version of Little Women, Harriet Reisen suggested that the drawings of Frank Thayer Merrill were perhaps the ones she was thinking of . I found 3 online (2 suggested by Harriet) and each came from an interesting article so I'm posting the links …
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A (fictional) Alcott Family Christmas
Christmas in my office is a lot of fun (I work for an independent Real Estate firm, Rutledge Properties, doing their marketing). We are right in downtown Wellesley, Massachusetts with a lovely storefront, all decorated with a Christmas village of gingerbread houses made by children of the brokers, plus a real antique train set that …
DVD Giveaway Contest – Win by writing about your favorite Little Women character
As promised, and in honor of Louisa and Bronson's impending birthdays (November 29), I am giving away a free DVD of the acclaimed documentary, Louisa May Alcott The Woman Behind Little Women thanks to the generosity of Nancy Porter and Harriet Reisen. I've seen this documentary a few times and it is just wonderful seeing …
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Motherhood, Marriage, and Keen Observations
Chapter 38 of Little Women, "On the Shelf" again showed me what a keen observer Louisa was. She never married nor bore any children yet her description of Meg and John's adjustment to parenthood was dead on. I listened to the audio book with my mouth open just about the whole time, in awe at …
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Louisa creates the perfect man for Jo (and herself?)
At least that's my take on Professor Bhaer. And what a sweetheart she's created! Kind, gentle, a lover of children . . . an intellectual who can challenge her mind and create stimulating conversation . . . a confidant . . . someone with the courage to be virtuous and defend it . . . …
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The plot thickens
It's become obvious to me that I need to better explore the back story of Little Women in order to fully appreciate it (and to be able to comment on it intelligently!). Plus, your comments keep me on my toes as you know so much more than I do! I found this article yesterday on …
Jo Meets Apollyon – what does that mean?
The other day I was trying to find the chapter in Little Women where Jo shares with Marmee her fears about her quick temper and couldn't find it. No wonder! Yesterday I listened to chapters 7 and 8 from the audio book and found out that "Jo Meets Apollyon" was what I was looking for. …
Reading “Little Women” on the fly
Ever wanted to read Little Women but you're short on time? Here's a free audio book you can download, found at http://librivox.org/little-women-by-louisa-may-alcott/ You can also subscribe to it on iTunes to play on your iPod. Just search for "Little Women" and you'll find it under Podcasts. I'm definitely a better listener than reader, wish all …
Finishing up May’s Memoir
I am getting close to the end of Caroline Ticknor's memoir on May and am beginning to dread the end. I think one of the things so captivated me about May's story was her tragic end. It just seemed so sudden, so random. She was so robust and healthy; her life was pretty much perfect …
Louisa May Alcott is My Passion 