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.
To be quite honest, I didn’t particularly enjoy Alcott’s Moods, especially when compared to the other works we’ve read so far (much like our beloved Susan Bailey). Moods felt very slow-moving to me, and I did not grow to care as much for the characters as I typically do (and did in “La Jeune” and Behind a Mask). I didn’t dislike Sylvia, but she seemed a bit flat to me, and I didn’t have much of an opinion on which man she should marry (if she chose to marry either). I do think, however, that Moods offers readers an interesting look into Alcott’s own feminist and religious views. During her lifetime, Alcott was an avid supporter of women’s rights, and her spirituality was highly influenced by both the transcendentalist movement and the Unitarian Universalist faith that she and her family practiced.
This week, for my artifact blog, I focused on the blog Louisa May Alcott is My Passion (thanks Rachael!). This blog is a collection of analytical and reflective pieces written by Susan Bailey on the “life, works and legacy of Louisa May Alcott and her family.” According to the blog, Bailey is “an active member and supporter of the Louisa May Alcott Society, the Fruitlands Museum and Louisa May Alcott’s Orchard House.” While I browsed her blog’s many different categories and posts, I also listened to her podcast episode “Beauty in the humblest things,” which stood out to me as it focuses on Louisa May Alcott’s spiritual life (which has its own category on Bailey’s blog!). According to Bailey and her guest, Alcott’s spirituality is characterized by her belonging to the transcendentalist movement – she found beauty in the mundane and everyday, in human beings and human nature…
In honor of Women's History Month, I am pleased to present my article as published on BookTrib.com. Here is a teaser - you can read the whole article by clicking on the link below. Louisa May Alcott: Inspiring Women Writers, Rocking the Vote In March of 1880, nineteen women voted for the first time in …
The Friends of Sleepy Hollow Cemetery are holding their 14th annual Breakfast Event at the Colonial Inn on April 4th, 8:30am to 10am. The featured speaker is Tim Gorman, Location Manager for the Oscar-winning Little Women movie. As you know, it was filmed entirely in MA -- Mr. Gorman will describe the various settings and …
I am happy to share a discovery made by John Matteson, Pulitzer prize-winning author of Eden's Outcasts: The Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Father. My thanks to him for sharing the following photo. John writes, "This is the photograph of Michael C. Lowry, the half-brother of John Suhre. Michael was also killed at …
I am pleased to have been interviewed for this story for BookTrib on the new Little Women movie plus previous adaptations: Here's a tease - the article is by Joanna Poncavage: Young women of every generation, at some point, will stare at themselves in a mirror and ask: Who am I, who will I become? …
**SPOILER ALERT** Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women has been a staple in family libraries for the last 150 years, passed down from generation to generation. Emerging from the story are timeless themes: becoming your best self, sisterhood and the bonds of family, and the difficult passage from childhood to adulthood. Beneath the seemingly mundane exploits …
Note: I am pleased to present this guest post by Gabrielle Donnelly, author of The Little Women Letters. Donnelly is an entertainment journalist and she had the chance recently to sit down with Greta Gerwig, writer and director of the latest Little Women movie. *********************************** Writer and director Greta Gerwig’s last film was the acclaimed …
To begin with the fact why should one even select Louisa May Alcott as their guide or a mentor, it must be first noted that when we choose a ‘hero‘ for ourselves, we tend to select the one with strong personality and most importantly who would be able to protect and fight for us. But when we choose a ‘guide‘, we must be aware that whether that person is capable of understanding where we are and would stand by our side in the darkest time, more than the fact, he knows the path.
Portrait of Louisa May Alcott by George Healy
It is important for us to learn: whether the guide we have chosen would be able to be a beacon of hope when the path gets dark? Whether he will be able to contain our fears and keep us inspired inside…
