The Louisa May Alcott Society celebrates their tenth anniversary with a visit from “Louisa!”

On a cool and cloudy day a group of dedicated teachers, writers, academics and hard-core fans gathered together at ground zero to celebrate the love of an author who had, in one way or another, transformed their lives. Thus was the gathering of the Louisa May Alcott Society as we celebrated ten years as an …

Introducing the first official French biography of Louisa May Alcott

Sometime ago I was contacted by Charline Bourdin who blogs about Louisa May Alcott in France. She recently authored a book on Louisa's life, published by Devin Editions. Titled Louisa May Alcott Ou la véritable histoire de Josephine March, this is the first official biography of Louisa in French. Charline Bourdin was born in Rouen, …

Farewell to May Alcott Nieriker

I have finally finished Caroline Ticknor's memoir of May (I told you I was a slow reader!) and although it is pretty romanticized, I enjoyed it thoroughly. Being able to blog about it as I read made it far more enjoyable. I will reiterate that May must have been a delight to know and that …

Finishing up May’s Memoir

I am getting close to the end of Caroline Ticknor's memoir on May and am beginning to dread the end. I think one of the things so captivated me about May's story was her tragic end. It just seemed so sudden, so random. She was so robust and healthy; her life was pretty much perfect …

May Alcott Nieriker’s True Contribution to Art

I particularly appreciated a paragraph I read in today in May Alcott A Memoir by Caroline Ticknor where she summarized May's true contribution to the art world. Here's what she said: (page 225-226) "These slender links that bind May Alcott to the little group [in Grez, a small French village that proved to be a …

“Amy” meets a fan

I loved this section that I read in Carolyn Ticknor's May Alcott A Memoir this morning. It details how May, while visiting the small village of Grez in France ( the latest mecca for artists), ran into a 14 year old fan of Little Women. Having read before how Louisa May Alcott was the first …

May knew how to make good luck happen

Caroline Ticknor pointed out something key to May Alcott Nieriker's success in life, both as a person and an artist - "It was characteristic of the aspiring artist form Concord to make the most of her opportunities and much of May's so-called 'good luck' was traceable to the alacrity with which she seized upon each …

More musings from May Alcott Nieriker’s memoir

I'm reading the chapter entitled "Marmee's Journal" from Caroline Ticknor's May Alcott A Memoir; this journal was written in the last year of Mrs. Alcott's life. There were several little things I noticed that I wanted to share. First, there was an excerpt from one of May's letters about an episode in her drawing class. …

I like May Alcott Nieriker

The more I read of Caroline Ticknor's May Alcott A Memoir, the more I like May Alcott Nieriker (and Ticknor obviously did too). I just read a section in Ticknor's book where May was in London with friends and wanted to go rowing. Apparently in that day and age, it was not proper for well-bread …

An Artist without the Temperament: How Rare!

In reading May's accounts of her travels and adventures, and hearing how other family members saw her, it occurs to me that May Alcott Nieriker is the first artist I've ever 'met' that didn't have the artist temperament. How do I know? I should know, I've been 'blessed' with one. 🙂 My art teacher in …