Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind Little Women

Book Kits - Adult

Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind Little Women by Harriet Reisen

A vivid, energetic account of the life of the beloved author whose work has delighted millions of readers, Louisa May Alcott.  Reisen portrays a writer as worthy of interest in her own right as her most famous character, Jo March, and addresses all aspects of Alcott’s life: the effect of her father’s self-indulgent utopian schemes; her family’s chronic economic difficulties and frequent uprootings; her experience as a nurse in the Civil War; the loss of her health; and her frequent recourse to opiates in search of relief from migraines, insomnia, and symptomatic pain. Stories and details culled from Alcott’s 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 true-life rags-to-riches tale.