I am pleased to present this guest post by Elizabeth Hilprecht, a regular reader whose insightful comments you have most likely read. We have been having a wonderful email chat back and forth about Daniel Shealy's Little Women Abroad and I asked her if she would share some of the wonderful stories taken from letters …
Coming attractions for 2017 (and a summing up of 2016)
Abby May Alcott's diaries from 1852 and 1863 -- getting to know the real Amy March. May Alcott Nieriker's delightful foray into writing -- mentoring other women artists Jack and Jill, using Concord, MA as the backdrop. It's time to finish the Little Women trilogy. AND, a big reveal regarding ... ... hopefully by the …
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Happy Birthday Bronson and Louisa! Not a day over 217 and 184 ;-)
NOTE: I just found out my publisher, ACTA, is giving away 15 free copies of Louisa May Alcott Illuminated by The Message in honor of our favorite author's birthday. Go here http://actapublications.com/louisa-may-alcott-illuminated-by-the-message/ and type in code HAPPYBIRTHDAY at checkout. Even if you have your own copy, order one as a gift for friend! * * …
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“Diana and Persis” – compelling, revealing, biographical, and thus, tragically incomplete
By the 1870s, Louisa May Alcott and her baby sister May had become close companions. Although quite different in temperament, both shared that burning ambition to become the artists they were meant to be – Louisa as a best-selling author, and May as an acclaimed painter, exhibiting at the Paris Salon. Unearthing a treasure In the …
Happy Halloween! A treat for Little Women fans: “Norna, or the Witch’s Curse,” the annotated version
What a treat for Halloween and beyond! Juvenilia Press is announcing a new, annotated version of "Norna, or the Witch's Curse:" You can find out more at http://www.arts.unsw.edu.au/juvenilia. "Norna, or the Witch's Curse" is the play performed in Chapter 1 of Little Women. It is part of a book issued in 1893 by Roberts Brothers …
A blunt, controversial psychological study of Miss Alcott — Katharine Anthony’s 1937 biography
The 1930s was an interesting time in Alcott scholarship. The year 1932 marked the one hundredth year of Louisa’s birth. 1938 not only marked the 50th anniversary of Louisa and Bronson’s death but also the 70th anniversary of the publication of Little Women. Thus in 1937, two important biographies were released – Odell Shepherd’s Pedlar’s …
Celebrating the re-opening of The Wayside — a peak inside
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 …
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Those unconventional Alcotts left behind quite the mark
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 …
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Louisa May Alcott was not the only Alcott working off sexual energy
From Women and Health in America (first edition) there is this intriguing essay titled "What Ought to Be and What Was: Women’s Sexuality in the Nineteenth Century" by Carl N. Degler. Quoting Dr Charles Taylor, 1882— “It is not a matter of indifference whether a woman live a single or a married life … I …
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“A thousand kisses–I love you with my whole soul”: Relations between women in the 19th century, as reflected in Little Women
This comment from Diana regarding a previous post prompted a discussion on whether or not Louisa May Alcott was gay: “What is your opinion of the evidence that she may have had some suppressed passion, such as crushes, on girls? Remember she said in an interview that she had been in love with so many …
Louisa May Alcott is My Passion 