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.
One of my favorite new books about Louisa May Alcott is The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott. This is not a standard biography but a flight of fancy - a historical novel based on a period in Louisa's life where there is a notable gap in her journal writings and letters. Author Kelly O'Connor …
Continue reading "An interview with author Kelly O’Connor McNees"
Yet another new book on the Alcotts has been released, this one written by British scholar and professor Richard Francis. Entitled Fruitlands The Alcott Family and Their Search for Utopia, this book is destined to be the definitive work on the failed Fruitlands experiment conducted by Bronson Alcott (with wife and daughters including young Louisa), …
Continue reading "Richard Francis unveils his new book on Fruitlands at the Concord Bookshop"
As promised, and in honor of Louisa and Bronson's impending birthdays (November 29), I am giving away a free DVD of the acclaimed documentary, Louisa May Alcott The Woman Behind Little Women thanks to the generosity of Nancy Porter and Harriet Reisen. I've seen this documentary a few times and it is just wonderful seeing …
Continue reading "DVD Giveaway Contest – Win by writing about your favorite Little Women 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 …
I finished reading Little Women last week and will comment on that in the last post that I do on this book. But first, I wanted to address how Louisa brought about the pairing of Amy and Laurie. I wish that I had not known that Amy married Laurie because I could never feel the …
Continue reading "Wrapping up Little Women Part One – Amy and Laurie"
I had the pleasure of meeting Susan Cheever, author of the newest biography on Louisa, Louisa May Alcott A Personal Biography. Susan is doing a book tour mostly on the East Coast, and came to Tatnuck's in Westborough, MA on Saturday, Nov. 13. Speaking to Alcott enthusiasts and burgeoning writers, Susan first spoke about the …
Continue reading "Meeting author Susan Cheever at book signing"
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 …
Continue reading "Comparing the March sisters with their real life counterparts"
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 …
Chapter 38 of Little Women, "On the Shelf" again showed me what a keen observer Louisa was. She never married nor bore any children yet her description of Meg and John's adjustment to parenthood was dead on. I listened to the audio book with my mouth open just about the whole time, in awe at …
Continue reading "Motherhood, Marriage, and Keen Observations"
This review is way overdue! The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott, the debut novel of Kelly O'Connor McNees, was the book that began my current reading binge last May. My husband, bless his heart, found this book and bought it for me and I will always be grateful. The Lost Summer of Louisa May …
Continue reading "A review of The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott"
Louisa May Alcott is My Passion 