Max Chapnick details how he discovered another pen name for Louisa May Alcott. Plus, images of newly found stories

I am thrilled to present this story written by Max Chapnick, Postdoctoral Teaching Associate in English, Northeastern University regarding his recent discovery of an additional pen name for Louisa May Alcott. He has also graciously shared photos he took of previously undiscovered stories by Louisa, some under the new pen name,  and others under familiar …

Looking for correspondents for Louisa May Alcott is My Passion

You may have noticed that I have not been as active on this blog as I used to be. The combination of writing my book on Elizabeth and health issues has made it challenging to keep up. I would like this blog to have fresh posts more frequently. Therefore, I am reaching out to you. …

“Duty chains me to my galley:” Examining the publishing process of Louisa May Alcott – a lecture by Joel Myerson and Daniel Shealy

The celebration continues on the 150th anniversary of the publication of Little Women. The Concord Free Public Library, home to the largest collection of original Alcott manuscripts, hosted Alcott scholars Joel Myerson from the University of South Carolina and Daniel Shealy from UNC Charlotte, both of whom gave their first joint lecture on Alcott. A …

Yet another big announcement, and you can be a part of it!

I've been sitting on some pretty exciting news. Along with the release of River of Grace this October, I also have another book in the works, commissioned by a different publisher. And this one is all about Louisa May Alcott! The book will be launched in January of 2016. The publisher is ACTA; this book …

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 …

Boston is creating a Literary Cultural District: here are a couple of the places where Louisa May Alcott lived

I am very excited about this since I live an hour out of Boston. There are already many sites in Boston that are related to the Alcotts but having a literary cultural district is very cool. Here is more information about that effort: http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/digital/retailing/article/61917-boston-creating-a-literary-cultural-district-spotlight-on-new-england-2014.html In a quote from the article, the idea grew from a …

Continuing to trace the steps of Little Women: Madeleine B. Stern’s brilliant analysis, part three: Can you tell what’s real and what is made up?

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 …

Questions, questions … (part one)

Before I begin, thank you for your part in the extraordinarily successful launch of my new blog, Be As One: A Single Flow … The stats were encouraging and that’s a massive understatement! Thank you. Involvement in my new blog dampened my passion for Louisa but only temporarily. It only takes reading a page or …

Louisa May Alcott Reading Challenge Update

How are you doing on the Louisa May Alcott Summer Reading Challenge? I've been pecking away at the Little Women re-read along with a re-read of Louisa May Alcott: A Biography by Madeleine Stern. I've been keeping a casual reading journal for the latter and I'll share some from that. Still the best biography Louisa May …