LOUISA
MAY ALCOTT A vivid, energetic account of the life of the beloved author whose work has delighted millions of readers, 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 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. This biography is in the end also the story of how the all-time beloved American classic Little Women came to be. 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. This revelatory portrait presents the popular author as she was and as she has never been seen before. In addition to the biography, Harriet Reisen has written a documentary based upon the book, which premières on PBS “American Masters” in December 2009. |
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