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.
I found this article today which includes a picture of the hospital where Louisa served during the Civil War, plus a photo of the first edition of Hospital Sketches. The diary which the author refers to can be downloaded for free on Google Books. The author is Kevin Konrad, a graduate from the Richard Stockton …
There's a terrific article on the Concord Patch written by a licensed Concord tour guide, Harry Beyer. He takes you on a tour of the Alcott family plot at Sleepy Hollow cemetery. Here's a teaser from the article: Louisa May was an active abolitionist, helping to shelter runaway slaves on the Underground Railroad. She was also an early …
This article from Nurse.com provided some excellent background for the emergence of women in nursing during the Civil War. It was truly new and Louisa May Alcott was right in the forefront, volunteering her services. She of course wrote about those experiences in Hospital Sketches. The Civil War and Nursing By Cathryn Domrose Friday April …
Here’s an interesting article about Dorothea Dix, the powerhouse behind the organizatio of women nurses for the Civil War (the first time women were allowed to serve as nurses). Louisa May Alcott served under Dix: “ . . . Thirty-year-old Louisa May Alcott, the author of Little Women who nursed at Union Hospital in Washington, …
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, …
This review is way overdue! The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott, the debut novel of Kelly O'Connor McNees, was the book that began my current reading binge last May. My husband, bless his heart, found this book and bought it for me and I will always be grateful. The Lost Summer of Louisa May …
As I continue to read Little Women, I have really come to appreciate Louisa's ability with the written word. The phrases she strings together as she builds each character, carefully, layer by layer, is such a joy to experience. By far though, her most meaningful writing for me is whenever she deals with the subject …