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.
Did the real-life Amy know Laurie? Apparently so, and they were good friends! How do we know? Through a stash of letters at the Houghton Library from May Alcott to Alfred Whitman. Who was Laurie based upon? Alf is one of two boys on whom Laurie from Little Women was based (the other being Louisa's …
From Aunt Jo's Scrap-Bag comes "An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving," one of many charming short stories Louisa May Alcott wrote after the success of Little Women. Story summary It's a simple story of a time long ago and far away (very early 19th century), starring a country family in New Hampshire, "poor in money, but rich in …
Continue reading "An Old-Fashioned Louisa May Alcott Thanksgiving"
I am pleased to announce that my very first book, River of Grace: Creative Passages Through Difficult Times will be released this Fall, published by Ave Maria Press! You can pre-order it now on Amazon.com. A memoir with life application River of Grace is a faith-based memoir (written from my Roman Catholic tradition) with life …
Continue reading "Announcing my first book, “River of Grace,” to be published this Fall!"
Today (April 22, 2015) marks the fifth anniversary of my mother's passing. But it's not a sad day. Like Louisa, I have a firm belief in the hereafter. Like Christie Devon in Work, I too have seen "signs" that my mother is still very close to me (see previous post). In those first weeks after …
Continue reading "Remembering my mom with the words of Louisa May Alcott"
I am grateful to be able to attend again the annual Summer Conversational Series at Louisa May Alcott’s Orchard House this year. The theme concerns talent versus genius, and the abundance of genius that existed in Concord, Massachusetts in the 19th century. I was not able to take in all five days of the series …
Cathlin Davis on Louisa’s philosophy of life Continuing with Day 4 of the series, Professor Cathlin Davis from California State University presented on “Practice Philosophy: ‘I want something to do.’” Through passages from Hospital Sketches, Work, Little Men and some of the rarer short stories (“May Flowers” from A Garland for Girls and “What Becomes …
From the pages of Aunt Jo’s Scrap-Bag comes an intriguing memoir of the boys in Louisa May Alcott's life, "My Boys." From one "boy" to another Louisa had always preferred the company of boys and wished she had been born one herself. She particularly favored the age when boys were "regarded as nuisances till they are …
Aunt Jo's Scrap-Bag is a collection of short stories, mostly for children, that Louisa wrote in the 1880s (including stories from her grand tour of Europe with younger sister May). While none of the stories have anything to do with Little Women, the publisher obviously was banking on the title drawing in lots of buyers …
Continue reading "Complete list of stories from the Aunt Jo’s Scrap-Bag series"
After my reading of "An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving," I decided to dig deeper into Aunt Jo’s Scrap-Bag and the stories my mother cherished as a young girl. What I thought would be just light-hearted reading has become a poignant and very enjoyable journey into the past where I am coming to know my mother as a …
Continue reading "A peak into my mother’s childhood through Aunt Jo’s Scrap-Bag"
From Aunt Jo's Scrap-Bag comes "An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving," one of many charming short stories Louisa May Alcott wrote after the success of Little Women. Story summary It's a simple story of a time long ago and far away (very early 19th century), starring a country family in New Hampshire, "poor in money, but rich in …
Continue reading "An Old-Fashioned Louisa May Alcott Thanksgiving"
Louisa May Alcott is My Passion 