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.
1. What inspired you to write a fictional account of Lidian and Waldo Emerson? It took me a long time to decide to write a nocel about Lidian and Waldo. At first, I just had a lot of questions about Lidian, especially about why she was relatively absent from so many biographies of her husband, …
Continue reading "An interview with Amy Belding Brown, author of Mr. Emerson’s Wife"
I just ordered a bunch of new books and needed to rearrange my book shelves to get everything to fit. In the midst of the rearranging, I pulled out my copy of The Alcotts Biography of a Family and discovered a promotional photo of the author, Madelon Bedell, and an interview released by the publisher’s …
Just heard some awesome news from Jan Turnquist at Orchard House - the long missing papers of Madelon Bedell are now safely ensconced at Orchard House. As mentioned in yesterday's post, Bedell wrote a scholarly work entitled The Alcotts Biography of a Family; it was supposed to have been in 2 volumes but sadly, Bedell …
Continue reading "Tidbits of news, and beginning a trip to Fruitlands"
I had the privilege yesterday of meeting author Amy Belding Brown who as you know, wrote the historical novel, Mr. Emerson’s Wife , based upon the lives of Waldo and Lidian Emerson and their relationships with Henry David Thoreau, Margaret Fuller, and other famous Transcendentalists. Sharing lattes together at a local cafe/country store, Amy and …
Continue reading "Meeting Amy Belding Brown, author of “Mr. Emerson’s Wife”"
Reading the last few words, I slowly closed Mr. Emerson’s Wife and felt a welling up inside of emotion. I was so tied to the character of Lidian Jackson Emerson that I felt they were her emotions too. This is how Amy Belding Brown's book hit me. I lived inside of Mr. Emerson's Wife for …
Mr. Emerson’s Wife by Amy Belding Brown has really caught my imagination. I find myself living it in my head when I'm not reading it and I don't recall a book having done that to me before. What's really funny is that there are several things going on in my life that relate in some …
As a follow-up to American Bloomsbury, and in an effort to continue to build on knowledge of life in New England for women in the 19th century, I've started reading Mr. Emerson’s Wife by Amy Belding Brown, at the advice of a friend (good advice!). This is a beautifully written book that attempts to fill …
Continue reading "Learning more about 19th century life for women with “Mr. Emerson’s Wife”"
I know I said I would not finish American Bloomsbury but I really do enjoy Susan Cheever's writing style despite the problems her books pose. This is the second non-fiction book I've read by Cheever and it's frustrating that her work is so uneven. She is either utterly brilliant or totally inane. Despite several factual …
In May of 1868, a publisher asked an author to write a book specifically targeted "for girls." His plan was twofold: to capitalize on this up-and-coming author's growing popularity, and to capture a corner of a brand new genre of children's literature. The author begrudgingly obliged, and ended up producing one of the best selling, …
Today was such an amazing day that I am asking you to please indulge me. I want to file two reports but the first one needs to be from a gushing fan; the more informative report will come later over the weekend. I started this blog with the express purpose of meeting other fans of …
Louisa May Alcott is My Passion 