The Conversational series welcomed back a perennial favorite in John Matteson whose Pulitzer-prize winning book Eden’s Outcasts is a standard in Alcott scholarship. He has also written a fine book on Margaret Fuller called The Lives of Margaret Fuller; she was the focus of his presentation entitled “ ‘The Mind in the Full Glow of …
Summer Conversational Series 2014 – “Navigating the Vortex: Creative Genius in the Time of the Alcotts” – Is it Talent or Genius?
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 …
“I Will Remember You:” a video and musical tribute to Louisa May Alcott and her sister Lizzie
I created this video in tribute to these two special ladies in our lives. In a previous post I had mentioned how Louisa and Lizzie had changed my life; thus I put together this song and video in tribute. Enjoy and spread it around! Are you passionate about Louisa May Alcott too? Subscribe to our …
Introducing beautiful new British editions of Louisa May Alcott classics
Hesperus Press, an independent London-based publisher is reissuing the most beloved of Louisa May Alcott's works on June 27th with beautiful new covers: These would make a wonderful addition to any Little Women collection. Visit http://www.hesperuspress.com for more information; you can follow @hesperuspress on Twitter. Are you passionate about Louisa May Alcott too? Subscribe to …
Continue reading "Introducing beautiful new British editions of Louisa May Alcott classics"
Alcott Immersion Warning: the wondrous things that can happen when you study too much!
After four years of constant reading, study, writing and pondering on one family, I think I understand now how actors prepare for their roles, and the subsequent consequences of their immersion into their characters. Taking on the Louisa persona I'm acquainted with a couple of people (Jan Turnquist and Marianne Donnelly) who, as actresses, take …
Spring finally arrives in New England! A virtual kayak trip for city dwellers
Whenever I am outdoors, especially in the kayak, I feel like I am drinking, drinking, drinking. It's a sweet elixir that fills my soul. I imagine Thoreau and Louisa felt this way; she wrote about in Moods. It was because of that passage that I christened my kayak the Sylvia Yule. I took Sylvia out …
Continue reading "Spring finally arrives in New England! A virtual kayak trip for city dwellers"
What would May’s life as a wife, mother and artist have been like had she lived? Jo’s Boys gives us a hint.
Jo’s Boys is tinged with sadness. And wistfulness. Louisa worked on Jo’s Boys for seven years beginning in 1879, the year her youngest sister May died six weeks after bearing her daughter Lulu. Abba, known as “Marmee” had died in 1877. Laurie and Amy’s idyllic life Chapter Two, “Parnassus” has us visiting the palatial home …
Jo’s Boys – reading the first edition knowing Louisa was alive
Look at what I got at The Barrows in Concord! New meaning This is the first time that I've acquired first editions of Louisa May Alcott's books. Knowing she was alive when these books were published adds another layer of meaning to the reading. I feel myself transported back to 1886, catching up on the …
Continue reading "Jo’s Boys – reading the first edition knowing Louisa was alive"
Abigail May Alcott’s love was her strength
Following up on my last post on Abigail Alcott, I finished transcribing yet another letter from her to Bronson dated January 4, 1858. Looking for a reply Lizzie is clearly getting worse, her days winding down until her death on March 14. Abba was her primary caregiver, a crushing responsibility in and of itself. But …
Continue reading "Abigail May Alcott’s love was her strength"
Recollections of Louisa May Alcott by Maria S. Porter, longtime friend in later life
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 …
Louisa May Alcott is My Passion 