Lousia May Alcott

1. Lousia May Alcott

1 of 11
LOUSIA MAY
ALCOTT
Ryan Kelley, Jenna McLay, Steve Polack,
Elyse Mastrostefano, Melanie Baer

2. Biography

2 of 11
BIOGRAPHY
Louisa May Alcott, the second daughter of Amos
Bronson Alcott and Abigail "Abba" May was born in
Germantown, Pennsylvania on November 29, 1832.
She was homeschooled by her father for several
years. She was taught the basics such as arithmetic,
grammar, reading, writing, composition, history, and
geography. Her father would also read stories to Louisa and
her sister. She enjoyed listening to these and practiced writing
her own.

3.

3 of 11
She later attended Still River Village School, which was
located in the family barn for a short time. Alcott also enjoyed
going to Ralph Waldo Emerson's library to read up on lessons.
Her father pursued his teaching career by setting up the Temple
School but was unable to guarantee his family a steady income.
May’s father decided to move the family to Boston, Massachusetts
in 1849. At this point, May was held responsible for earning money
to keep her family stable. She went
everywhere searching for any job that
she possibly could to bring in income. She eventually started reading
for an elderly man and sick sister.
She quit after realizing that she
wasn’t going to receive any pay for
her work.

4.

4 of 11
Later on, her family found themselves in Concord,
Massachusetts. She met some of her father’s “associates” who she
associated directly with including the Emersons, Thoreaus,
Hawthornes, and Ripleys. Louisa began to write stories at an early
age to help provide for the family income.
Her first book, Flower Fables, 1854, was written for Ellen
Emerson, whose father she idolized. With all her hard work, Alcott
found time to enjoy Boston Theater.
A veteran of amateur performances
at home and elsewhere, she loved the
stage and wrote for it. One of her
plays was accepted for presentation,
but circumstances prevented its
opening.

5.

5 of 11
With the outbreak of the American
Civil War in 1861, Alcott was eager to do
her part. She had long attended
antislavery meetings and fairs. To
contribute to the war effort, she worked
for a hospital during the winters of 1862
and 1863.
She is known to be a transcendentalist
writer. The Transcendentalists can be
understood in one sense by their context -- by what they were rebelling
against, the current situation, and how they were trying to be different.
She was a civil-war activist and put all of her effort this time in the war.
It would later influence one of her greatest pieces of writing in later
years.

6.

6 of 11
After working in the hospital for a couple years, typhoid
pneumonia soon forced her home. Her health was permanently
damaged by the fever and by the calomel (miraculous chloride) that
she was soon diagnosed with. After a gradual recovery she was able to
write "Hospital Sketches“, in August of 1863.
During this time, she was working on a novel that would soon
become one of her most notable works. Little Women, published
September 30, 1868, was an instant success and sold more than 2,000
copies immediately. In fact the country was so taken with Louisa's story
that her publisher begged for a second volume.
The story revolves around the March sisters who
lived and grew in post-Civil War America.
Alcott's story of Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy
had launched her into stardom and helped
to alleviate the family's financial problems.

7.

7 of 11
Little Men was first published in 1871. The novel tells of
characters from Little Women and is considered by some the second
book of an unofficial Little Women trilogy. Little Men tells the story
of Jo Bhaer and the children at Plumfield Estate School. The book
was inspired by the death of Alcott's brother-in-law, which reveals
itself in one of the last chapters, when a beloved
character from Little Women passes away.
In 1888, she fell ill, and her final strength was
taken by caring for her father in his final days.
The date of her death was the same day of her
father's funeral. She was buried in Sleepy
Hollow cemetery in Concord.

8. Most Notable Writings

8 of 11
M OS T N OTA B L E W R ITIN G S
Louisa May Alcott’s inspirations came from a lot of her childhood
experiences. Because she was taught mostly by her father, he most likely
had an impact on the way she wrote and thought. She was also an
advocate of abolition, women's rights, and temperance. Her stories,
novels, and poems helped to support her family, and most have now
been republished, widening her reputation beyond that of children's
author and bringing fresh critical notice to her work. I believe she was
also inspired by knowing she had to make the money to feed her
family. Louisa also spent a year in Europe where she was
very inspired and wrote a lot of poems.

9.

9 of 11
Fiction Novels
Short Stories
Hospital Sketches
Flower Fables
Little Women
Little Men
Water-Lilies
Poems
Morning Glories
A Little Gray Curl
Modern Cinderella
To Papa
King of Clubs and
Under the Lilacs
the Queen of Hearts
Rose in Bloom
Old-Fashioned
Thanksgiving

10. Why Are they Noteworthy?

10 of 11
W H Y A R E T H E Y N OT E WO RT H Y ?
Louisa May Alcott is considered to be
noteworthy in American Literature because
she told stories from her own life. Since she
lived her life in poverty she had a view point
that was different from other authors to write
stories about. She also lived a normal life. She
was a nurse for the war and fought for
women’s suffrage, which many other writers
did not.

11.

11 of 11
Alcott stands out from other
authors because her writings have been
translated in over fifty languages, and
none of her eight books for young
adults have been out of print, for
example Little Women. She also stands
out because of her different life that she
has had than the rest of the authors. Her
stories are very personal.