Synopses & Reviews
A vivid, energetic account of the life of Louisa May Alcott, whose work has delighted millions of readersLouisa May Alcott portrays a writer as worthy of interest in her own right as her most famous character, Jo March, and addresses all aspects of Alcotts life: the effect of her fathers self-indulgent utopian schemes; her familys chronic economic difficulties and frequent uprootings; her experience as a nurse in the Civil War; the loss of her health and frequent recourse to opiates in search of relief from migraines, insomnia, and symptomatic pain. Stories and details culled from Alcotts journals; her equally rich letters to family, friends, publishers, and admiring readers; and the correspondence, journals, and recollections of her family, friends, and famous contemporaries provide the basis for this lively account of the authors classic rags-to-riches tale.
Alcott would become the equivalent of a multimillionaire in her lifetime based on the astounding sales of her books, leaving contemporaries like Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, and Henry James in the dust. This biography explores Alcotts life in the context of her works, all of which are to some extent autobiographical. A fresh, modern take on this remarkable and prolific writer, who secretly authored pulp fiction, harbored radical abolitionist views, and completed heroic service as a Civil War nurse, Louisa May Alcott is in the end also the story of how the all-time beloved American classic Little Women came to be. This revelatory portrait will present the popular author as she was and as she has never been seen before.
Harriet Reisens interest in Louisa May Alcott dates to her marathon reading of Alcotts eight childrens novels during a rainy spell one childhood summer. Over the past twenty years, what began as an idea for a film biography of Alcott developed into a passion for the subject herself. A former fellow in screenwriting at the American Film Institute, Reisen has written dramatic and historical documentary scripts for PBS and HBO, and radio commentary for Morning Edition and Marketplace. She lives in Massachusetts.
Louisa May Alcott portrays a writer as worthy of interest in her own right as her most famous character, Jo March, and addresses all aspects of Alcotts life: the effect of her fathers self-indulgent utopian schemes; her familys chronic economic difficulties and frequent uprootings; her experience as a nurse in the Civil War; the loss of her health and frequent recourse to opiates in search of relief from migraines, insomnia, and symptomatic pain. Stories and details culled from Alcotts journals; her equally rich letters to family, friends, publishers, and admiring readers; and the correspondence, journals, and recollections of her family, friends, and famous contemporaries provide the basis for this account of the authors life, a classic rags-to-riches story.
Alcott would become the equivalent of a multimillionaire in her lifetime; her books far outsold those by contemporaries like Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, and Henry James. This biography explores Alcotts life in the context of her works, all of which are to some extent autobiographical. A modern take on this remarkable and prolific writer, who secretly authored pulp fiction, harbored radical abolitionist views, and completed heroic service as a Civil War nurse, Louisa May Alcott is also the story of how the beloved American classic Little Women came to be. This revelatory portrait presents a new perspective on the popular author.
Every now and then, there appears a writer who has tracked a subject for so long through space and time that the resulting product ranks it superior to any of the facile interpretations or extended magazine articles that currently pass for biography. Such is the case with Harriet Reisen . . . Ms. Reisen is a master storyteller. Chapters are never formulaic. With compassion and insight, she propels readers on to the next adventure, sacrifice, tragedy and triumph.”Marion Elizabeth Rodgers, The Washington Times
As Harriet Reisen's enchanting biography reminds us, Alcott patterned the March family on her own and Jo on herself . . . [Her life] is richly examined in Ms. Reisen's full and vivid portrait.”Melanie Kirkpatrick, The Wall Street Journal
There may be better American novels, but Little Women surely ranks among the most cherished . . . Fans will adore Harriet Reisens sympathetic biography Louisa May Alcott. With charming verve, she details Alcotts remarkable if difficult life.”USA Today
Drawing heavily on family letters and journals, Reisens intimate biography . . . is a moving and sympathetic look at the Alcotts and their extraordinary cultural mileu.”Julia M. Klein, Obit Magazine
Harriet Reisen puts 20 years of study into a highly readable story. She casts a revealing new light upon an ambitious woman who was very much like her literary alter ego.”Joyce Saenz Harris, The Dallas Morning News
"Louisa May Alcott's classic Little Women has been something of a rite of passage between mothers and daughters for generations. Mothers present their little girls with their very own copy of the book. And eventually, some lazy vacation day or rainy weekend is given over to a viewing of one the film versions of Alcott's book, whether it's the 1933 Katherine Hepburn version, the 1949 June Allyson vehicle, or the modern 1994 Winona Ryder interpretation. But while Little Women was, in part, autobiographical, the full story of the life and times of Louisa May Alcott is not so well known. Author and screenwriter Harriet Reisen has taken on that challenge, and the result is her comprehensive and eminently readable work Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind Little Women . . . Her book is at once sweeping and personal . . . Reisen's devotion both to scholarship and Alcott herself makes the book truly an interesting and engaging read . . . There are so many stories seemingly effortlessly woven into the book: not just Louisa's life but life in Boston in the 1800's, the anti-slavery movement, the Civil War, the transcendentalist movement, Louisa's father Bronson's life as a teacher and philosopher."Victoria Shouldis, Concord Monitor
A lively, engrossing portrait of Louisa May Alcott's life that will appeal to the legions of women who grew up worshipping the book . . . [Alcotts] spirit shines through in Reisens retelling.”Meghan Barr, Associated Press
Reisens lifelong fascination with Little Women and the woman who wrote it has produced an absorbing narrative, in many ways the best ever, of Alcotts own life . . . The utterly compelling force of Alcotts personality has never been better described. I found the book compulsively readable; I couldnt put it down.”Robert Richardson, author of Emerson: The Mind on Fire and Henry Thoreau: A Life of the Mind
Brilliantly researched . . . Her biography will occupy an essential place on any Alcott bookshelf.”John Matteson, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Edens Outcasts: The Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Father
A beautifully written, significant, and fascinating work. Harriet Reisen does with this biography what Alcott did with her writinggives us a memorable and inspiring gift full of humanity, heart, and soul.”Winona Ryder, producer and star of Little Women
[Reisens] story equalsand maybe bestsher beloved book about the lively March sisters.”Lisa Shea, Elle
"Reisen delivers an in-depth portrait of the spirited, sentimental, imaginative, realistic woman whose childhood vow was to 'be rich, famous, and happy.' Reisen draws extensively from Alcott's prodigious output of literary works, travel sketches, articles, journals and letters, as well as the recollections of her contemporaries . . . Reisen deftly weaves the story of Alcott's life into the rich social, cultural and historical fabric of mid-19th-century New England. The author's insightful examination reveals Alcott as a compulsive writer who peppered her stories with external details and internal currents of her life; an ardent abolitionist who served as a Civil War army nurse; a self-espoused spinster who cherished her independence but harbored a schoolgirl romantic attachment to Thoreau and a midlife crush on a young Polish pianist; a thoroughly modern feminist who wrote about the power struggle between the sexes and championed women's suffrage; and a middle-aged woman who relied on opiates to cope with her failing health. An absorbing portrait of the protean author whose 'life was no children's book.'"Kirkus Reviews
"Reisen's writing is lively and appealing. She analyzes Alcott's best-known worksLittle Women, Little Men, and Jo's Boysas well as Pauline's Passion and Punishment, Behind a Mask, and Perilous Play, the pulp fiction Alcott wrote anonymously or as A.M. Barnard. Drawing extensively from Alcott's journals and letters as well as those of her family members, Reisen portrays Alcott's life with precision and sympathy yet does not hide her flaws. This compelling biography allows readers to know Alcott and appreciate her as 'her own best character.' Highly recommended for . . . readers interested in American women writers and women's studies."Kathryn R. Bartelt, University of Evansville Libraries, Indiana, Library Journal
"Harriet Reisen's Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind Little Women does valiantly portray the beloved author as a stalwart woman whose life, as Reisen succinctly puts it, was no children's book. The daughter of impecunious transcendentalist Bronson Alcott and long-suffering Abigail May, as a girl Louisa Alcott watched her father preach esoteric uplift while practicing the penury that impoverished the family. Bronson's redeeming trait, Reisen speculates, may have been temporary insanity. The sadder case was Alcott's motherthe model for Marmee in Little Womenan intelligent woman harnessed to a man in search of the ineffable and, on occasion, young female acolytes. Louisa appointed herself the Golden Goose of these needy nurturers. Churning out what Reisen calls the chick-lit of its day to provide her mother and sisters the material comforts she never had, Alcott also used her imagination, according to Reisen, to escape the confines of ordinary life, although for Bronson Alcott's daughter, ordinary life was not all that ordinary; Reisen calculates that the family moved at least 30 times by Alcott's 20s. The ordeals of childhood were transmuted into rich literary endowments, Reisen explains. Alcott also wrote to earn parental approval; no longer was she a tomboy with a temper, though a careful reader can detect the anger beneath the surface of her most placid stories . . . Reisen's rich empathy for Alcott never falters and her chronicle of Alcott's exhausting attempt, as one friend remarked, to fill vacant niches in all things, whether in her family or in the world of popular literature, is heart-rending. As Reisen notes, Alcott simply wore herself out. Devotees of Little Women may be shocked that its self-medicating, troubled creator was not a jolly J.K. Rowling, though likely many of them know this. What they may not realize is that the redoubtable Alcott, who chose to be a free spinster and to paddle her own canoe, was decidedly strong but, alas, never free."Brenda Wineapple, Publishers Weekly
Review
“At last, Louisa May Alcott has the biography that admirers of Little Women might have hoped for.” —The Wall Street Journal's Best 10 Books of the Year
“A magnificent new biography . . . a classic.” —The Washington Times“Fans will adore Harriet Reisen's sympathetic biography. . . .With charming verve, she details Alcott's remarkable if difficult life.” —USA Today “Superb . . . punctuates the myths of the Alcott family, rendering Louisa May with nuance.” —Chicago Tribune “A biography as vibrant as its subject.” —Vogue
“Reisens lifelong fascination with Little Women and the woman who wrote it has produced an absorbing narrative, in many ways the best ever, of Alcotts own life. . . . The utterly compelling force of Alcotts personality has never been better described. I found the book compulsively readable; I couldnt put it down.” —Robert Richardson, author of Emerson: The Mind on Fire and Henry Thoreau: A Life of the Mind
“Brilliantly researched. . . . Her biography will occupy an essential place on any Alcott bookshelf.” —John Matteson, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Edens Outcasts: The Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Father
“A beautifully written, significant, and fascinating work. Harriet Reisen does with this biography what Alcott did with her writing—gives us a memorable and inspiring gift full of humanity, heart, and soul.” —Winona Ryder, producer and star of Little Women (1994)
Review
“Every now and then, there appears a writer who has tracked a subject for so long through space and time that the resulting product ranks it superior to any of the facile interpretations or extended magazine articles that currently pass for biography. Such is the case with Harriet Reisen . . . . Ms. Reisen is a master storyteller. Chapters are never formulaic. With compassion and insight, she propels readers on to the next adventure, sacrifice, tragedy and triumph.”—Marion Elizabeth Rodgers, The Washington Times
“As Harriet Reisen's enchanting biography reminds us, Alcott patterned the March family on her own and Jo on herself . . . . [Her life] is richly examined in Ms. Reisen's full and vivid portrait.”—Melanie Kirkpatrick, The Wall Street Journal
“There may be better American novels, but Little Women surely ranks among the most cherished. . . . Fans will adore Harriet Reisens sympathetic biography Louisa May Alcott. With charming verve, she details Alcotts remarkable if difficult life.”—USA Today
“A lively, engrossing portrait of Louisa May Alcott's life that will appeal to the legions of women who grew up worshipping the book . . . . [Alcotts] spirit shines through in Reisens retelling.”—Meghan Barr, Associated Press
“Reisens lifelong fascination with Little Women and the woman who wrote it has produced an absorbing narrative, in many ways the best ever, of Alcotts own life. . . . The utterly compelling force of Alcotts personality has never been better described. I found the book compulsively readable; I couldnt put it down.” —Robert Richardson, author of Emerson: The Mind on Fire and Henry Thoreau: A Life of the Mind
“Brilliantly researched. . . . Her biography will occupy an essential place on any Alcott bookshelf.” —John Matteson, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Edens Outcasts: The Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Father
“A beautifully written, significant, and fascinating work. Harriet Reisen does with this biography what Alcott did with her writing—gives us a memorable and inspiring gift full of humanity, heart, and soul.”—Winona Ryder, producer and star of Little Women (1994)
“[Reisens] story equals—and maybe bests—her beloved book about the lively March sisters.”—Lisa Shea, Elle Magazine
“This juicy bio is a page-turner.”—Good Housekeeping
“Drawing heavily on family letters and journals, Reisens intimate biography . . . is a moving and sympathetic look at the Alcotts and their extraordinary cultural mileu.”—Julia M. Klein, Obit Magazine
“Harriet Reisen puts 20 years of study into a highly readable story. She casts a revealing new light upon an ambitious woman who was very much like her literary alter ego.”—Joyce Saenz Harris, The Dallas Morning News
“Comprehensive and eminently readable. . . . At once sweeping and personal. . . Reisens devotion both to scholarship and Alcott herself makes the book truly an interesting and engaging read.”—Victoria Shouldis, Concord Monitor
Synopsis
A vivid, energetic account of the life of Louisa May Alcott, whose work has delighted millions of readersLouisa May Alcott portrays a writer as worthy of interest in her own right as her most famous character, Jo March, and addresses all aspects of Alcotts life: the effect of her fathers self-indulgent utopian schemes; her familys chronic economic difficulties and frequent uprootings; her experience as a nurse in the Civil War; the loss of her health and frequent recourse to opiates in search of relief from migraines, insomnia, and symptomatic pain. Stories and details culled from Alcotts journals; her equally rich letters to family, friends, publishers, and admiring readers; and the correspondence, journals, and recollections of her family, friends, and famous contemporaries provide the basis for this lively account of the authors classic rags-to-riches tale.
Alcott would become the equivalent of a multimillionaire in her lifetime based on the astounding sales of her books, leaving contemporaries like Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, and Henry James in the dust. This biography explores Alcotts life in the context of her works, all of which are to some extent autobiographical. A fresh, modern take on this remarkable and prolific writer, who secretly authored pulp fiction, harbored radical abolitionist views, and completed heroic service as a Civil War nurse, Louisa May Alcott is in the end also the story of how the all-time beloved American classic Little Women came to be. This revelatory portrait will present the popular author as she was and as she has never been seen before.
Synopsis
A vivid, energetic account of the life of Louisa May Alcott, whose work has delighted millions of readersLouisa May Alcott portrays a writer as worthy of interest in her own right as her most famous character, Jo March, and addresses all aspects of Alcotts life: the effect of her fathers self-indulgent utopian schemes; her familys chronic economic difficulties and frequent uprootings; her experience as a nurse in the Civil War; the loss of her health and frequent recourse to opiates in search of relief from migraines, insomnia, and symptomatic pain. Stories and details culled from Alcotts journals; her equally rich letters to family, friends, publishers, and admiring readers; and the correspondence, journals, and recollections of her family, friends, and famous contemporaries provide the basis for this lively account of the authors classic rags-to-riches tale.
Alcott would become the equivalent of a multimillionaire in her lifetime based on the astounding sales of her books, leaving contemporaries like Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, and Henry James in the dust. This biography explores Alcotts life in the context of her works, all of which are to some extent autobiographical. A fresh, modern take on this remarkable and prolific writer, who secretly authored pulp fiction, harbored radical abolitionist views, and completed heroic service as a Civil War nurse, Louisa May Alcott is in the end also the story of how the all-time beloved American classic Little Women came to be. This revelatory portrait will present the popular author as she was and as she has never been seen before.
Harriet Reisens interest in Louisa May Alcott dates to her marathon reading of Alcotts eight childrens novels during a rainy spell one childhood summer. Over the past twenty years, what began as an idea for a film biography of Alcott developed into a passion for the subject herself. A former fellow in screenwriting at the American Film Institute, Reisen has written dramatic and historical documentary scripts for PBS and HBO, and radio commentary for Morning Edition and Marketplace. She lives in Massachusetts.
Louisa May Alcott portrays a writer as worthy of interest in her own right as her most famous character, Jo March, and addresses all aspects of Alcotts life: the effect of her fathers self-indulgent utopian schemes; her familys chronic economic difficulties and frequent uprootings; her experience as a nurse in the Civil War; the loss of her health and frequent recourse to opiates in search of relief from migraines, insomnia, and symptomatic pain. Stories and details culled from Alcotts journals; her equally rich letters to family, friends, publishers, and admiring readers; and the correspondence, journals, and recollections of her family, friends, and famous contemporaries provide the basis for this account of the authors life, a classic rags-to-riches story.
Alcott would become the equivalent of a multimillionaire in her lifetime; her books far outsold those by contemporaries like Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, and Henry James. This biography explores Alcotts life in the context of her works, all of which are to some extent autobiographical. A modern take on this remarkable and prolific writer, who secretly authored pulp fiction, harbored radical abolitionist views, and completed heroic service as a Civil War nurse, Louisa May Alcott is also the story of how the beloved American classic Little Women came to be. This revelatory portrait presents a new perspective on the popular author.
“Every now and then, there appears a writer who has tracked a subject for so long through space and time that the resulting product ranks it superior to any of the facile interpretations or extended magazine articles that currently pass for biography. Such is the case with Harriet Reisen . . . Ms. Reisen is a master storyteller. Chapters are never formulaic. With compassion and insight, she propels readers on to the next adventure, sacrifice, tragedy and triumph.”Marion Elizabeth Rodgers, The Washington Times
“As Harriet Reisen's enchanting biography reminds us, Alcott patterned the March family on her own and Jo on herself . . . . [Her life] is richly examined in Ms. Reisen's full and vivid portrait.”Melanie Kirkpatrick, The Wall Street Journal
“There may be better American novels, but Little Women surely ranks among the most cherished. . . . Fans will adore Harriet Reisens sympathetic biography Louisa May Alcott. With charming verve, she details Alcotts remarkable if difficult life.”USA Today
“Drawing heavily on family letters and journals, Reisens intimate biography . . . is a moving and sympathetic look at the Alcotts and their extraordinary cultural mileu.”Julia M. Klein, Obit Magazine
“Harriet Reisen puts 20 years of study into a highly readable story. She casts a revealing new light upon an ambitious woman who was very much like her literary alter ego.”Joyce Saenz Harris, The Dallas Morning News
“Comprehensive and eminently readable . . . At once sweeping and personal . . . Reisens devotion both to scholarship and Alcott herself makes the book truly an interesting and engaging read.”Victoria Shouldis, Concord Monitor
“A lively, engrossing portrait of Louisa May Alcott's life that will appeal to the legions of women who grew up worshipping the book . . . [Alcotts] spirit shines through in Reisens retelling.”Meghan Barr, Associated Press
“Reisens lifelong fascination with Little Women and the woman who wrote it has produced an absorbing narrative, in many ways the best ever, of Alcotts own life . . . The utterly compelling force of Alcotts personality has never been better described. I found the book compulsively readable; I couldnt put it down.”Robert Richardson, author of Emerson: The Mind on Fire and Henry Thoreau: A Life of the Mind
“Brilliantly researched . . . Her biography will occupy an essential place on any Alcott bookshelf.”John Matteson, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Edens Outcasts: The Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Father
“A beautifully written, significant, and fascinating work. Harriet Reisen does with this biography what Alcott did with her writinggives us a memorable and inspiring gift full of humanity, heart, and soul.”Winona Ryder, producer and star of Little Women
“[Reisens] story equalsand maybe bestsher beloved book about the lively March sisters.”Lisa Shea, Elle Magazine
"Reisen delivers an in-depth portrait of the spirited, sentimental, imaginative, realistic woman whose childhood vow was to 'be rich, famous, and happy.' Reisen draws extensively from Alcott's prodigious output of literary works, travel sketches, articles, journals and letters, as well as the recollections of her contemporaries . . . Reisen deftly weaves the story of Alcott's life into the rich social, cultural and historical fabric of mid-19th-century New England. The author's insightful examination reveals Alcott as a compulsive writer who peppered her stories with external details and internal currents of her
Synopsis
A vivid, energetic account of the life of Louisa May Alcott, whose work has delighted millions of readersLouisa May Alcott portrays a writer as worthy of interest in her own right as her most famous character, Jo March, and addresses all aspects of Alcotts life: the effect of her fathers self-indulgent utopian schemes; her familys chronic economic difficulties and frequent uprootings; her experience as a nurse in the Civil War; the loss of her health and frequent recourse to opiates in search of relief from migraines, insomnia, and symptomatic pain. Stories and details culled from Alcotts journals; her equally rich letters to family, friends, publishers, and admiring readers; and the correspondence, journals, and recollections of her family, friends, and famous contemporaries provide the basis for this lively account of the authors classic rags-to-riches tale.
Alcott would become the equivalent of a multimillionaire in her lifetime based on the astounding sales of her books, leaving contemporaries like Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, and Henry James in the dust. This biography explores Alcotts life in the context of her works, all of which are to some extent autobiographical. A fresh, modern take on this remarkable and prolific writer, who secretly authored pulp fiction, harbored radical abolitionist views, and completed heroic service as a Civil War nurse, Louisa May Alcott is in the end also the story of how the all-time beloved American classic Little Women came to be. This revelatory portrait will present the popular author as she was and as she has never been seen before.
Harriet Reisens interest in Louisa May Alcott dates to her marathon reading of Alcotts eight childrens novels during a rainy spell one childhood summer. Over the past twenty years, what began as an idea for a film biography of Alcott developed into a passion for the subject herself. A former fellow in screenwriting at the American Film Institute, Reisen has written dramatic and historical documentary scripts for PBS and HBO, and radio commentary for Morning Edition and Marketplace. She lives in Massachusetts.
Louisa May Alcott portrays a writer as worthy of interest in her own right as her most famous character, Jo March, and addresses all aspects of Alcotts life: the effect of her fathers self-indulgent utopian schemes; her familys chronic economic difficulties and frequent uprootings; her experience as a nurse in the Civil War; the loss of her health and frequent recourse to opiates in search of relief from migraines, insomnia, and symptomatic pain. Stories and details culled from Alcotts journals; her equally rich letters to family, friends, publishers, and admiring readers; and the correspondence, journals, and recollections of her family, friends, and famous contemporaries provide the basis for this account of the authors life, a classic rags-to-riches story.
Alcott would become the equivalent of a multimillionaire in her lifetime; her books far outsold those by contemporaries like Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, and Henry James. This biography explores Alcotts life in the context of her works, all of which are to some extent autobiographical. A modern take on this remarkable and prolific writer, who secretly authored pulp fiction, harbored radical abolitionist views, and completed heroic service as a Civil War nurse, Louisa May Alcott is also the story of how the beloved American classic Little Women came to be. This revelatory portrait presents a new perspective on the popular author.
“Every now and then, there appears a writer who has tracked a subject for so long through space and time that the resulting product ranks it superior to any of the facile interpretations or extended magazine articles that currently pass for biography. Such is the case with Harriet Reisen . . . Ms. Reisen is a master storyteller. Chapters are never formulaic. With compassion and insight, she propels readers on to the next adventure, sacrifice, tragedy and triumph.”Marion Elizabeth Rodgers, The Washington Times
“As Harriet Reisen's enchanting biography reminds us, Alcott patterned the March family on her own and Jo on herself . . . . [Her life] is richly examined in Ms. Reisen's full and vivid portrait.”Melanie Kirkpatrick, The Wall Street Journal
“There may be better American novels, but Little Women surely ranks among the most cherished. . . . Fans will adore Harriet Reisens sympathetic biography Louisa May Alcott. With charming verve, she details Alcotts remarkable if difficult life.”USA Today
“Drawing heavily on family letters and journals, Reisens intimate biography . . . is a moving and sympathetic look at the Alcotts and their extraordinary cultural mileu.”Julia M. Klein, Obit Magazine
“Harriet Reisen puts 20 years of study into a highly readable story. She casts a revealing new light upon an ambitious woman who was very much like her literary alter ego.”Joyce Saenz Harris, The Dallas Morning News
“Comprehensive and eminently readable . . . At once sweeping and personal . . . Reisens devotion both to scholarship and Alcott herself makes the book truly an interesting and engaging read.”Victoria Shouldis, Concord Monitor
“A lively, engrossing portrait of Louisa May Alcott's life that will appeal to the legions of women who grew up worshipping the book . . . [Alcotts] spirit shines through in Reisens retelling.”Meghan Barr, Associated Press
“Reisens lifelong fascination with Little Women and the woman who wrote it has produced an absorbing narrative, in many ways the best ever, of Alcotts own life . . . The utterly compelling force of Alcotts personality has never been better described. I found the book compulsively readable; I couldnt put it down.”Robert Richardson, author of Emerson: The Mind on Fire and Henry Thoreau: A Life of the Mind
“Brilliantly researched . . . Her biography will occupy an essential place on any Alcott bookshelf.”John Matteson, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Edens Outcasts: The Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Father
“A beautifully written, significant, and fascinating work. Harriet Reisen does with this biography what Alcott did with her writinggives us a memorable and inspiring gift full of humanity, heart, and soul.”Winona Ryder, producer and star of Little Women
“[Reisens] story equalsand maybe bestsher beloved book about the lively March sisters.”Lisa Shea, Elle Magazine
"Reisen delivers an in-depth portrait of the spirited, sentimental, imaginative, realistic woman whose childhood vow was to 'be rich, famous, and happy.' Reisen draws extensively from Alcott's prodigious output of literary works, travel sketches, articles, journals and letters, as well as the recollections of her contemporaries . . . Reisen deftly weaves the story of Alcott's life into the rich social, cultural and historical fabric of mid-19th-century New England. The author's insightful examination reveals Alcott as a compulsive writer who peppered her stories with external details and internal currents of her
Synopsis
In a fresh, modern take on the remarkable Louisa May Alcott, Harriet Reisens vivid biography explores the authors life in the context of her works, many of which are to some extent autobiographical. Although Alcott secretly wrote pulp fiction, harbored radical abolitionist views, and served as a Civil War nurse, her novels went on to sell more copies than those of Herman Melville and Henry James. Stories and details culled from Alcotts journals, together with revealing letters to family, friends, and publishers, plus recollections of her famous contemporaries provide the basis for this lively account of the authors classic rags-to-riches tale. In Louisa May Alcott, the extraordinary woman behind the beloved American classic Little Women is revealed as never before.
About the Author
Harriet Reisens interest in Louisa May Alcott dates to her marathon reading of Alcotts eight childrens novels during a rainy spell one childhood summer. Over the past twenty years, what began as an idea for a film biography of Alcott developed into a passion for the subject herself. A former fellow in screenwriting at the American Film Institute, Reisen has written dramatic and historical documentary scripts for PBS and HBO, and radio commentary for Morning Edition and Marketplace. She lives in Massachusetts.
Reading Group Guide
1. What was your first experience with Little Women? How old were you? Who introduced you to the story? Which of the sisters did you relate to the most? What scenes do you remember most vividly today?
2. Louisa May Alcott describes the realization of her artistic ambitions as “a long-held dream.” Reisen borrows the phrase to describe her own passion for literary biography. Do you believe that Louisa completely fulfilled her long-held dream, or is her work unfinished? Does Reisen fulfill her dream? Can a biography of someone as complex and influential as Louisa ever be finished?
3. In what ways is Louisa a quintessential American figure?
4. In what ways was Louisa far ahead of her time?
5. What traits did Louisa adopt or inherit from her mother? How do those traits contribute to her survival and success? See her mother's letter to her on page 118. How does her advice become central to Louisa's lifelong “creed” on page 332:“Work is such a beautiful & helpful thing & independence so delightful”?
6. Reisen portrays the relationship between Louisa and Bronson as the most complicated of her life, beginning with their shared birthdays and ending with their near-simultaneous deaths. See Bronsons birthday letters to the child Louisa (52, 79) — how does Reisen characterize Bronson? Does Louisas desire to remain unattached stem from her view of her parents marriage? Do Reisens speculations about Bronsons likely mental illness affect your impression of him? Do your feelings about him change throughout the book?
7. Under the pen name and alter ego A. M. Barnard, Louisa wrote work that is a far cry from the sweet, domestic stories for which she was popularly known. Is it possible to write well about subjects or places one has never experienced, as when Louisa writes about prostitutes, murder, and sexual relationships? Did she in fact have dark knowledge to draw upon as inspiration?
8. Thoreau and Emerson were ever-present forces in Louisas life. How might she have fared without their help and influence? What are some of the roles they played for her and Bronson?
9. In what ways do the Marches live a rosier life than the Alcotts? Did Louisa create the Little Women version of her family in order to explore and work out negative feelings about her childhood? Do you think the book would have been as commercially successful if it were more closely autobiographical?
10. Louisa worked on Moods at different times throughout her career, but seems never to have been happy with it (234). Why did she return to it again at the age of 50 rather than starting a new project? Why did she feel the need to write a great “adult” novel, after achieving such honor and success with Little Women?
11. Louisas poems reveal much about her various emotional and mental states throughout her life. Yet, her response to the publication of the heartfelt “Thoreaus Flute” (226) was that she was a “mercenary creature” who enjoyed the 10 dollars it brought. Does Louisa seem to take refuge in art perhaps as the only place where she can reveal her vulnerabilities?
12. Would Louisa have been happier had she chosen to be more “selfish” after her success, choosing relaxation and pleasure like May? Why does Louisa believe that Mays near-perfect happiness after her marriage was too good to last? Was Mays untimely death a symbolic blow for Louisa as well in terms of her view of life?
13. Louisa moved countless times in her life, hardly staying in the same place for longer than a year. Why was it so difficult for her to settle in any location? What were the effects of her vagabond lifestyle?
14. Money was Louisas greatest motivation for her relentless pace of writing, but fame was an inevitable consequence. Was she ever able to truly enjoy the fruits of her labors? Why did she either dismiss or hide from her fans - with the exception of the Lukens sisters (322)? Why did she wish all her letters to be burned after her death? And why do you think she was so especially careful not to disclose the nature of her relationship with Laddie?
15. Louisa seems to take solace in work and a sense of sacrifice for her family. Was she justified in thinking of herself as a martyr for her family, beginning with Reisens oft-mentioned incident with the plumcakes? Does Louisa take up this role independently, or is it forced upon her? Why does it especially bother her not to receive presents for Christmas or birthdays? Consider the tragedy that she died utterly alone on her sickbed.
16. How does this biography affect your previous impressions of Louisa? Of mid-19th century America? Of your own attitudes toward familial responsibility and independence?