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.
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 …
Continue reading "Yet another big announcement, and you can be a part of it!"
I have just finished my second reading of Little Women. Both times I have listened to the free audio book on Librivox.com. The first time around wasn’t too bad until I got into the crux of Jo’s relationship with Professor Bhaer in chapter 46. The reader unfortunately had such a loud and grating voice that …
Continue reading "Thoughts on Little Women the second time around–seeing Jo in a new light"
You may recall an artist's rendition of The Wayside, originally named Hillside by Bronson Alcott after the home was purchased with Abba Alcott's inheritance. Although Orchard House is the physical setting for Little Women, artist Joyce Pyka, like many of us Alcott fans, knows that many of the childhood stories of the girls took place …
My family visited Orchard House back when I was a little girl (I'm the one with the pig tails - my brother is to my left and sister to my right). The family with us are my aunt, uncle and cousin. My uncle took hours and hours of home movies and made a short one …
Continue reading "My first visit to Orchard House in 1963, captured on film!"
This ran in 2011 and captures Thanksgiving perfectly. Happy Thanksgiving to all!
I had a lovely phone conversation with Daniel Shealy who has written essays on Louisa’s pioneering efforts as a fairy tale and fantasy writer. He has edited a volume known as Louisa May Alcott’s Fairy Tales and Fantasy Stories, which is a complete collection. I asked him the following questions; the answers are paraphrased but …
Continue reading "Dr. Daniel Shealy’s take on Louisa May Alcott’s fantasy stories"
Aniko Eva, a contributor to Open Salon, was kind enough to reblog my previous post on the unknown members of the Fruitlands community. I, in turn, am happy to reblog her excellent post on Transcendental Wild Oats, Louisa's satirical response to her experience at Fruitlands. Sometimes the only thing you can do in the midst …
Continue reading "Sowing Wild Oats, the Transcendental Kind. Serious humor. Guest post by Aniko Eva"
I took some pictures of my cats this morning and got some crazy results! It was begging for a story so I tried my hand at it. I left the ending open on purpose to see what you could come up with 🙂 I wonder how Louisa would end this story???
This morning my two cats, Jenny and Rameses, started playing with toys that my mother-in-law had put in our Christmas stocking for them. Tootsie’s toys never fail to please! I watched as they inspected the toys, taking pictures with my phone.
The pictures produced some shocking results and were such fun that I thought I’d craft a story around them. Here goes:
Santa had left an extra gift.
The tree stripped of its sparkling lights and sentimental ornaments had been dragged out onto the snow-covered deck to shelter the birds. In its wake were left a trail of prickly green needles and a single, unopened package, topped with a silky red bow and a note stamped with a paw print reading, “Love from Santa, Rudolph and the gang.”
Filled with a variety of plush and…
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I happened to stumble upon a great find: The Glory Cloak by Patricia O'Brien, an historical novel featuring Louisa May Alcott and Clara Barton. It covers the Civil War through the eyes of a fictitious Alcott cousin, Susan Gray, who comes to live with the Alcotts after being orphaned. Susan becomes Louisa's constant companion, confidant …
Continue reading "Louisa has primed my pump and changed my life"
Following up some more on chapter 5 of Eight Cousins (A Belt and a Box), another member of the Louisa May Alcott Society, Melissa M. Pennell, Ph.D., Professor of English, UMass Lowell, Lowell, MA provided some texts from the 19th and 20th centuries (including two by Bronson Alcott's cousin, Dr. William Alcott) if you wanted …
Continue reading "Interested in 19th century fashion reform? Here’s some references."
Louisa May Alcott is My Passion 