Louisa May Alcott is My Passion
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.
Back in 2016, I visited Walpole, NH, home to the Alcott family from 1855-1857. Accompanied by Alcott scholar Dr. Kristi Martin, we had the pleasure of meeting Ray Boas, Walpole's town historian. He gave us a lovely tour of the town, pointing out the homes where Louisa and Anna had performed with the Walpole Amateur …
Continue reading "Exciting news from Walpole, NH, home to the Alcotts in the mid 1850s"
As part of the Louisa May Alcott reading challenge hosted by the In the Bookcase blog, I pledged I would read and post on Jo’s Boys and Anne Boyd Rioux’s latest, Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy: The Story of Little Women and Why It Still Matters. This post will be about Jo’s Boys. I am fortunate …
Continue reading "Highlights from Jo’s Boys by Louisa May Alcott"
Louisa May Alcott had numerous friends and admirers. Being writers themselves (or children of famous writers such as Julian Hawthorne, see previous post), these friends and admirers provide us with what I think are the most colorful biographical sketches of Louisa. No scholar can truly capture what a contemporary (especially a friend) can reveal through …
You’ve come of age and it’s time to strike out on your own. How do you feel? Excited? Fearful? Full of anticipation? Will it be a grand adventure or a dismal failure? In her mid-twenties, Louisa May Alcott was ready to strike out on her own, fueled by her obsessive desire to be a financial …
Continue reading "Work: “Tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor” – what could women do?"
This past Saturday I had the pleasure of seeing the Concord Players' historic production of Little Women with one of you! Nancy Gluck of the Silver Threads blog along with her lovely husband were spending the weekend in Concord (she is preparing a 5-part series on Louisa May Alcott for her adult education class). We …
Continue reading "Little Women on the stage – a Concord Players’ tradition"
A trip to a warehouse bookstore in the middle of nowhere produced a great find! I had just about given up the hope of finding something interesting until this book caught my eye: Nonquitt A Summer Album, 1872-1985, edited by Anne M. Lyell. What is so significant about Nonquitt? This is where Louisa May Alcott …
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 …
Continue reading "Referrals in Louisa’s journal to Little Women"
You know how they say that behind every great man is a great woman? How about behind every great woman? In studying the life of Abba Alcott through the reading of Marmee, the Mother of Little Womenby Sandford Meddick Salyer, there indeed was a great woman behind Louisa May Alcott. She was a mother whose …
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Kelly O'Connor McNees, author of The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott (now available in paperback), wrote an article recently about Fanny Kemble, a 19th century actress whom Louisa May Alcott greatly admired. There's a wonderful scene in Lost Summer where Louisa gets to perform in front of Kemble and I could just feel the …
Continue reading "Louisa the actress: meet her idol, Fanny Kemble"
I have a Google alert set up that sends me new links every week to anything relating to Louisa May Alcott. Just for fun, I thought I'd share some of the interesting links with you. The Vintage Book of American Women Writers It, of course, includes our own LMA . . . this looks like …
Continue reading "Ever pictured Louisa May Alcott as a Lego? This and other fun tidbits"
Louisa May Alcott is My Passion 