Biography of an English writer, Louisa May Alcott

1. Louisa May Alcott:
1832-1888

2. Louisa May Alcott's novel brings to life
vividly the life of New England during the
nineteenth century. A life that was
tranquil, secure, and productive.

3. • It is little wonder, for she
drew on her own and on her
family's experiences for her
work. As one of four
daughters growing up in
Boston.

4. • At the age of eight, she
moved with her family to
nearby Concord. There she
spent the happiest years of
her younger life, even though
she experienced the
constant threat of poverty

5. • She counted as friends the
children of Hawthorne and
Emerson. The Alcott was only a
modest cottage, but the girls
made use of a neighboring barn
to perform plays written by
Louisa May.

6. • She was educated at home,
and became a school teacher
in Boston. She saw her first
story printed in a Boston
newspaper at the age of
twenty. Her first full-length
book appeared two years
later.

7. •Interrupting her career as
a writer, she served as a
nurse in a Washington
hospital during the Civil
War.

8. •The thing that pleased her most
about her writing, as she became
more and more well known, was
the fact that sales of her books
helped to make life more
comfortable and less of a daily
struggle for her parents in their
later years.

9. • Alcott intricately explores the rich
nuances of family and family
relationships with each character.
Avid Alcott readers often identify
in themselves one of the four
sisters at various phases in their
own lives. It's a perfect story for
Christmas, or any time of year; a
fine example of Romanticism.