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.
After a three year renovation, the home of famous authors Louisa May Alcott, Nathanial Hawthorne and Margaret Sidney is finally open! I recently toured the house and was allowed to take pictures of each room, some of which I will share in this post. The force behind the preservation of the home Sidney (aka Harriet …
Continue reading "Celebrating the re-opening of The Wayside — a peak inside"
The Alcotts were an atypical Victorian family to be sure. Along with rather unconventional philosophic and religious ideas as to how to live, the family did not subscribe to typical Victorian role models. Role reversal To begin with, Bronson’s refusal or inability to work to support his family necessitated that his wife Abba take on …
Continue reading "Those unconventional Alcotts left behind quite the mark"
On Thursday I toured Louisa May Alcott's Orchard House. I was anxious to see the artifacts pictured in The Annotated Little Women, edited by John Matteson and took a vacation day to see them as November can get swallowed up in holiday preparations. If you live anywhere near Concord and can get to this exhibit, …
On a cool and cloudy day a group of dedicated teachers, writers, academics and hard-core fans gathered together at ground zero to celebrate the love of an author who had, in one way or another, transformed their lives. Thus was the gathering of the Louisa May Alcott Society as we celebrated ten years as an …
In part three of this interview about Louisa May Alcott's Orchard House, we meet the documentary's producer and filmmaker, Justin King. Hear his motivation for making this film: I wish to thank WCOM-FM for granting permission to rebroadcast this interview. It originally aired on October 1st on the "Courage Cocktail" hosted by Lee Anne McClymont. Host Lee Ann McClymont …
In part three of this interview about Louisa May Alcott's Orchard House, Executive Director Jan Turnquist shares a poignant story of a pilgrim visiting Orchard House from the other side of the world and how Little Women impacted this visitor: I wish to thank WCOM-FM for granting permission to rebroadcast this interview. It originally aired …
In part two of this interview about Louisa May Alcott's Orchard House, Executive Director Jan Turnquist reveals how Bronson Alcott received his education and how important his love of learning was to Louisa's development as a writer: I wish to thank WCOM-FM for granting permission to rebroadcast this interview. It originally aired on October 1st …
As you know, Louisa May Alcott's Orchard House has been promoting a Kickstarter Campaign to raise $150,000 to fund a documentary film on this extraordinary house museum (click on the photo to make your pledge). Those of us who have visited Orchard House know that it is far more than a museum; it is a …
Slowly but surely I am getting through Abba’s letters in relation to my research on Lizzie Alcott. These letters cover a period from 1853 to 1858. Abba’s handwriting is difficult; it appears she often wrote in haste. Her eyesight was poor so it’s amazing she could write letters at all considering she was writing either …
Continue reading "Revealing the real Abigail Alcott to the world must include Bronson"
Little Women has been called autobiographical because Louisa May Alcott used so many episodes from her own childhood and that of her family to create the story. But where does fact end and fiction begin? Or does it even work like that? Stern says, “Fact was embedded in fiction, and a domestic novel begun in …
Louisa May Alcott is My Passion 