"It's amazing how lovely common things become, if one only knows how to look at them." (from "Marjorie's Three Gifts," 1877) Welcome to the second episode of Louisa May Alcott is My Passion: The Podcast! During the next thirty six minutes I will give you an overview of the recent Summer Conversational Series, "'Finding Beauty …
Summer Conversational Series 2014 – “Navigating the Vortex: Creative Genius in the Time of the Alcotts” – Is it Talent or Genius?
I am grateful to be able to attend again the annual Summer Conversational Series at Louisa May Alcott’s Orchard House this year. The theme concerns talent versus genius, and the abundance of genius that existed in Concord, Massachusetts in the 19th century. I was not able to take in all five days of the series …
A Louisa May Alcott Christmas: “The Little Red Purse”
From the Christmas Tales and Stories collection (Laura Ciolkowski, editor) comes a sweet, albeit typical offering from Louisa May Alcott known as "The Little Red Purse." Even though the essence of the story is very familiar (rich little girl learns how good it is to give to the poor), Louisa always manages to insert something …
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A great find! Actual printing of Louisa’s last children’s story in St. Nicholas Magazine
A trip to the Book Bear in West Brookfield, MA never disappoints. A warehouse of antiques, rarities and just plain used books, The Book Bear has books on every subject imaginable. It's where I found the book on Nonquitt which showed rare photos of Louisa plus her summer house (now sadly destroyed by fire). It's …
A Louisa May Alcott Christmas: “A Christmas Turkey, and How It Came”
From the Barnes and Noble collection of Christmas stories by Louisa May Alcott called Christmas Tales and Stories (edited by Laura Ciolkowsk) comes a sweet tale with a lot of fodder between the lines for those of us well-acquainted with the life of Miss Alcott. "A Christmas Turkey, and How It Came" The premise is familiar: a …
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Do Louisa May Alcott’s didactic tales of fantasy have a place in children’s reading today?
Last December I had the opportunity to tour Orchard House during the Christmas season (see previous post, “A lovely holiday visit to Orchard House, capped off by some great finds!”). The theme of the period decorations was Louisa May Alcott’s “first born,” Flower Fables. To properly prepare for the tour, I decided to read this …
