Literature / Writers Datebook: November 29
American novelist, short story writer, children's author, and poet best known for writing the novel Little Women and its sequels Good Wives, Little Men, and Jo's Boys
Early Years
Louisa May Alcott was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania. She suffered poverty and insecurity in her childhood. When she was only two years old, her father, Bronson Alcott, moved the family to Boston, where he ran a school that failed. Later, they moved again to Concord, Massachusetts.
The writer and Influences
Though mainly taught by her father, Louisa May Alcott learned a great deal from her famous neighbours, who included the writers Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Since the family had very little money,she decided to support her family by writing.
Her first book , a collection of fairytales called Flower Fables, was written when she was 16, published later after six years. When she was 30, she served as a nurse during the American Civil War, and from this experience, she wrote Hospital Sketches, her second book. .
Her most famous book Little Women was published when she was 36. Along with its sequel, Good Wives, Little Women tells the story of the March family, a picture of a family full of humour and loving relationships. It is based on her own home life. Jo March, the main character, is a self-portrait, and Jo's three sisters are also based on Alcott's beloved sisters.
Legacy
Louisa May Alcott strongly felt that women should have voting rights. She became involved in movements that demanded changes in society, changes that carried through in some of her writings. Her legacy as a writer is anchored in her revolutionary approach to children's and young adult literature, her creation of independent female characters, and her pioneering business savvy as a female author.
Works by Louisa May Alcott
Flower Fables, 1854
Hospital Sketches, 1863
Moods, 1864
The Chase (originally, A Long Fatal Love Chase, written under the pseudonym A.M. Barnard), 1866
Little Women, 1868
Good Wives, 1869
An Old-Fashioned Girl, 1870
Little Men, 1871
Eight Cousins, 1875
Jo's Boys, 1886
A Garland for Girls, 1888
Published after her death:
The Inheritance, 1998
Image Credit:
Louisa May Alcott, Woolf. Public Domain
Resources:
Cambridge Guide to Literature in English by Ian Ousby (1993)
Larousse Dictionary of Writers, edited by Rosemary Goring (1994)
Macmillan Dictionary of Women's Biography. 3rd Ed, ed. by Jennifer Uglow (1999)
(c) January 25, 2010. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.
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