Book alert: Pilgrimage by Annie Leibovitz and Doris Kearns Goodwin

I just got a glimpse of Annie Leiborvitz' new book, Pilgrimage and it is amazing! For those who don't know, Pilgrimage is a journey through the places that mean the most to Leibovitz. One of those places is Concord where she toured Orchard House, Emerson's home (Bush) and Walden Pond. The pictures from Orchard House …

Continuing with Marmee, the Mother of Little Women: tantalizing look into Lizzie Alcott

Quite a while ago I promised to write more on Marmee, the Mother of Little Womenby Sandford Meddick Salyer and as usual, I got sidetracked (have to stop going to the library! :-)). As I mentioned before in my first post, this book was a very pleasurable read chock full of information. Salyer did his …

Take a tour of the final resting place of the Alcotts

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 …

Book Review: Louisa May Alcott A Personal Biography by Susan Cheever

Susan Cheever has offered the latest in a flurry of books about Louisa May Alcott; hers is titled Louisa May Alcott A Personal Biography. In a little over 250 pages, she sketches out the life of the popular author of Little Women. Cheever's book is an easy read, with a writing style that is very …

The Field Trip of a Lifetime! (part two)

To continue with my account of  the field trip of a lifetime, there were many more treasures that I found at the Concord Free Public Library: A May Alcott Nieriker Exhibition Regular readers of this blog know of my esteem for May Alcott Nieriker. I discovered (first to my dismay and then to my delight) …

Wrapping Up Little Women Part Two – Mama and Papa Bhaer, and my favorite character

Chapter 46 of Little Women, "Under the Umbrella," should have been a glorious chapter for me since Jo and Fritz finally decided to get married. Instead, it was incredibly frustrating, though it wasn't all Louisa's fault. 🙂 I've been listening to an audio book during my long commute and the reader for that particular chapter …

Comparing the March sisters with their real life counterparts

Harriet Reisen, author of Louisa May Alcott The Woman Behind Little Women, sent me this. It's interesting and fun to see the comparisons. I'd love to hear what you think! Thanks, Harriet, for this contribution! Gentle Readers: Asked to compare Louisa May Alcott’s fictional sisters to her real four, I find that they are inextricable …

Jo finds a new self in the Valley

Before I begin, I must say that right now I am positively swooning over the reading I am doing! Little Women is (sadly) winding down but surely going out with a bang. At the same time, Gone with the Wind is ramping up! It's so cool reading two books about the Civil War era (my …