Louisa May Alcott never intended to write Little Women.
She had dismissed her publisher's pleas for such a novel. Written out of
necessity to support her family, the book had an astounding success that
changed her life, a life which turned out very differently from that of
her beloved heroine Jo March.
In Louisa May Alcott, Susan Cheever, the acclaimed author of American
Bloomsbury, returns to Concord, Massachusetts, to explore the life of
one of its most iconic residents. Based on extensive research, journals,
and correspondence, Cheever's biography chronicles all aspects of
Alcott's life, from the fateful meeting of her parents to her death,
just two days after that of her father. She details Bronson Alcott's
stalwart educational vision, which led the Alcotts to relocate each time
his progressive teaching went sour; her unsuccessful early attempts at
serious literature, including Moods, which Henry James panned; her
time as a Civil War nurse, when she contracted pneumonia and was treated
with mercury-laden calomel, which would affect her health for the rest
of her life; and her vibrant intellectual circle of writers and
reformers, idealists who led the charge in support of antislavery,
temperance, and women's rights.
Alcott's independence defied the conventional wisdom, and her personal
choices and literary legacy continue to inspire generations of women. A
fan of Little Women from the age of twelve, and a distinguished author
in her own right, Cheever brings a unique perspective to Louisa May
Alcott's life as a woman, a daughter, and a working writer.
