Louisa may alcott death

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Louisa May Alcott: A Modern Biography

May 11, 2020

So the first time I read Martha Saxton's 1977 Louisa May Alcott: a Modern Biography (in December 2012 and in one mega and continuous reading session) I failed to post a review. And this was mostly because I was unable at that time to verbally (and indeed to and for me reasonably enough) express how much reading Louisa May Alcott: a Modern Biography had made me actively and vehemently despise Louisa May Alcott's father Bronson Alcott. For while Bronson Alcott might in fact be an individual whose transcendentalism and liberal views on education I have always much respected (especially since for the 19th century, his educational reform ideas are indeed delightfully modern and student-friendly), the Alcott family life information and details presented by Martha Saxton in Louisa May Alcott: a Modern Biography (and in particular regarding the Alcotts' life at Fruitlands) also clearly and decidedly show that Bronson Alcott obviously was a total and utter failure as a husband and as a father, that Bronson Alcott was someone who seem

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Bedell, Madelon. The Alcotts: biography of a family. New York: Carkson N. Potter, 1980

Call number: Alcott Collection PS 1013 .B4 1980

Elbert, Sarah. A hunger for home: Louisa May Alcott and Little Women. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1984.

Call number: Alcott Collection PS 1018 .E4 1984

Meigs, Cornelia. The story of the author of Little Women: Invincible Louisa. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1934.

Call number: Alcott Collection PS 1018 .M39 1934

Reisen, Harriet. Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind Little Women. New York: Henry Holt, 2009.

Call number: Alcott Collection PS 1018 .R45 2009

Saxton, Martha. Louisa May: a modern biography of Louisa May Alcott. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1977.

Call number: Alcott Collection PS 1018 .S27 1977

Shealy, Daniel. Alcott in her own time: a biographical chronicle of her life, drawn from recollections, interviews, and memoirs by family, friends, and associates. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 2005.

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Susan Cheever has offered the latest in a flurry of books about Louisa May Alcott; hers is titled Louisa May Alcott A Personal Biography. In a little over 250 pages, she sketches out the life of the popular author of Little Women. Cheever’s book is an easy read, with a writing style that is very accessible. The preface immediately captured me as she shared her personal connection with Alcott (thus the subtitle, “A Personal Biography”). I only wish that the book had lived up to the preface (and the epilogue as well) for I actually didn’t find all that much that was “personal” about it.

As a disclaimer, I have to say that I read this book in a way that most would probably not as I am very involved in reading about Louisa May Alcott for this blog: I took notes as I read. That plus reading several primary sources mentioned in Cheever’s bibliography made this a 3 month-long journey. Like I said, a little unusual!

My feelings about this book are decidedly mixed. On the one hand, I very much enjoyed the back drop of history that Cheeve