Marmee and Louisa: The Untold Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Mother

by Eve LaPlante

Marmee & Louisa, hailed by NPR as one of the best books of 2012, paints an exquisitely moving and utterly convincing portrait of Louisa May Alcott and her mother, the real Marmee. Award-winning biographer Eve LaPlante mines the Alcotts' intimate diaries and other private papers, some recently discovered in a family attic and others thought to have been destroyed, to revive this remarkable daughter and mother. Abigail May Alcott, long dismissed as a quiet, self-effacing background figure, comes to life as a gifted writer and thinker. A politically active feminist firebrand, she fought for universal civil rights, an end to slavery, and women's suffrage. This gorgeously written story of two extraordinary women is guaranteed to transform our view and deepen our understanding of one of America's most beloved authors.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, History, Biography Memoir, Audiobook, Book Club, Historical

384 pages, Hardcover

First published November 6, 2012

About the author

WHO NEEDS A STATUE? is Eve's first book for children. Coauthored by Margy Burns Knight and illustrated by Alix Delinois, it's a picture book about statues of women and people of color.

Eve is also the author of three biographies: MARMEE & LOUISA, about Louisa May Alcott and her mother; AMERICAN JEZEBEL, about the colonial leader Anne Hutchinson; and SALEM WITCH JUDGE, about Samuel Sewall, which won the Massachusetts Book Award. Her first book, SEIZED, is a nonfiction portrait of a common brain disease that can alter personality, illuminating the mind-body problem. She edited MY HEART IS BOUNDLESS, the writings of Abigail May Alcott. Please visit with her online at www.EveLaPlante.com.

Reviews

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Almost more than a biography, Eve LaPlante's Marmee and Louisa reads like a romance novel: a love affair between a mother and a daughter; a love affair between Eve LaPlante and her great-aunt, Abigail May Alcott. It occurs to me that LaPlante fell in love with her great-aunt the day she discovered Abigail's forgotten letters, in the attic of her home. The act of discovery itself reads like an early Louisa May romance.

I, too, fell in love with the real Marmee, if truth be told. Within these pages we find an intelligent, imaginative and resourceful woman who was weighed down by the rigorous strictures of 19th century mores of women. To add insult to injury, she was burdened with the added weight of a self-obsessed wastrel of a husband who could do nothing more than sigh in corners and wring his hands in dismay, if ever there was work to be done.

It is difficult to recognize the Bronson Alcott who was much touted as "great American" philosopher, educator, reformer, advocate and all-round "swell guy" in the lazy, dissolute reprobate who had nothing but contempt for the hard work required to raise a family. He would disappear from the family for months, to give himself over to "thinking". Early in their marriage, he in fact disappeared for a period of eighteen months, and "...spent most of his time in a room near the Philadelphia public library immersed in Coleridge, Wordsworth, Spenser, Carlyle and in translation of Goethe, Schiller, Dante and Kant." Meanwhile, at home, Abigail mothered two-year old Anna, and infant Louisa and made every conceivable sacrifice so that she and the children could keep body and soul together. Bronson encouraged her in these sacrifices, admiring her womanly duty, and loving his wife ardently. He loved her dearly, he wrote, because she loved him.

This early separation set the precedent for their marriage and Bronson would spend most of his life apart from his family -- more time apart, in fact, than he was with them. Near the end of his life, after Abigail had died, he was stricken to find in her journals how much she had suffered from his neglect. He gave himself over to vast amounts of guilt -- for about a minute and a half. In the end, it is safe to say he wasted his life -- and made damn certain his wife wasted hers in ministering to him.

It was Abigail who could have emerged as the true woman of letters, given half the opportunity. She was a devoted diarist who committed much of her considered opinions to paper. She offered well-formulated ideas on teaching, equal rights for the sexes, abolitionism. But, through her journals she stretched it perhaps as far as she could, and turned her energies to encouraging her daughters to write, especially Louisa, with whom she was closest. Knowing that she would never be the woman she aspired to be -- teacher, advocate, reformer, writer -- she gave her energies over to cultivating those skills in her children. She instilled in them a sense of true equality for the sexes -- that her daughters were as capable as any man to do good in this world, to be "anything they wanted to be".

Louisa's life emerges a little more shadowed in this biography, as most of it seems to be devoted to Abigail and her more-often-than-not estranged husband. Nothing happens to Louisa within these pages that doesn't relate directly to her mother. This symbiotic relationship is a very difficult one to unravel and provides much food for thought. On the surface, it is as simple as one loving, good mother devoted to her daughter; beyond that, it emerges as an especially poignant relationship of one spirit fostering the growth of another: soul to soul.

The biography feeds the curiosity of all those who have wondered about Marmee, the figure who emerges repeatedly through Louisa's books, in one form or another. It addresses all the questions we might have asked ourselves over the years and answers them fully and with compassion.

I do have a few quibbles about structure. LaPlante gives herself over to many tangents and non-sequiturs which lead to frustrating distractions. Her brilliant story-telling skills suffer from this. But, it is a very small quibble indeed, for the book is "brainy and bright".

[Gina Enk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ah, the Alcotts! I first read Little Women when I was about seven and then read my way through all of Alcott's children's books (several times each). While my collection stayed on my bookshelf and moved with me from place to place, I didn't re-read until I read Geraldine Brooks's fabulous historical fiction novel, March. Happily, there have been a lot of Alcott related books published recently. This one is really well researched, interesting and even infuriating at times as Bronson Alcott plowed his way through life working as little as possible and relying on everyone else to pay his bills and keep him comfortable. He reminded me of Anse Bundren.

[Manybooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes indeed, there certainly is a huge amount of factual information on Louisa May Alcott’s mother Abigail and on her daughter Louisa (and of course also on her writing, on Louisa May Alcott's literary career) presented by author Eve LaPlante in her 2012 biography Marmee and Louisa: The Untold Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Mother.

But Marmee and Louisa: The Untold Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Mother actually also contains copious amounts of details on all of the Alcotts (and on their internal and external dynamics), on their extended families and friends, as well as on 19th century American life, culture, education, gender battles and philosophies such as transcendentalism (all interesting and enlightening details, to be sure, although that personally, I do find a trifle too many minutiae that could probably and in my humble opinion be better and more successfully presented by LaPlante as notes or as an excursus, as I definitely do think that my feeling of Marmee and Louisa: The Untold Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Mother being rather a reading slog and sometimes rather tedious and overwhelming prinarily occurs because Eve LaPlante tries to jam way too much detail into her main text).

Now if you are a Bronson Alcott fan, you might well be gritting your teeth a trifle at the fact that Eve LaPlante really does manage to show Bronson Alcott warts and all so to speak, and that she makes absolutely no excuses whatsoever for his selfishness and his absolute failure as a husband and as a father. And indeed, I was already NOT a Bronson Alcott fan before reading Marmee and Louisa: The Untold Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Mother, but yes indeed that after reading Marmee and Louisa: The Untold Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Mother I totally and utterly do massively despise Bronson Alcott with every fibre of my being and consider him not as a philosopher with high ideals but as a megalomaniac and selfish narcissist who often made life a pretty much living hell for his wife and daughters (and even though it might well be that Abigail truly loved Bronson talked even rather talked him into marriage, well, once Abigail and Bronson were wed, Bronson obviously an obligation to provide for his wife and children, something he never bothered to fulfill, and yes, that for him, his ideals, his wants and desires always seemed to outweigh and supercede the wants and needs of his family, that it seemed to always be Bronson first, and his wife Abigail and his daughters last, this should make anyone angry and Bronson Alcott someone to be mostly and first and foremost condemned).

And even though some of Eve LaPlante's text is (as already pointed out above) a bit dragging and info dropping, the information I have read in Marmee and Louisa: The Untold Story of Louisa May Alcott and her Mother has been very much enlightening, and I do definitely appreciate reading Eve LaPlante topple Bronson Alcott from his transcedentalist pedestal and that she shows him as an utter failure as a human being. Highly recommended, but more for academic than for pleasure reading, as getting through the text does require a bit of patience and also an interest in19th century America.

[Kyrianna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this book in a GoodReads contest.

First off, I loved the fact that someone had an interest in finding out the truth, not only about a beloved writer but of family. Family really is important. For a non-fiction book, the writing style really did keep me entertained, which I gotta admit, I wasn't expecting. This book also made me realize how people really influence our lives, whether we know it or not! If you love Little Women, you will love this book!

[Bridget · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to get an Advanced Readers' Edition of this book, and I couldn't wait to read it! It was a great read.

The basic premise of the book is that although most people think that Louisa May Alcott's father, Bronson Alcott, was the main influence in her life and writing, that person was in fact her mother, Abigail May Alcott. Abigail was a woman ahead of her time, who dreamed of being able to do what she wanted with her life, at a time when marriage was pretty much the only choice for most women. When she met Bronson Alcott, she thought it would be a marriage of equals, but needless to say, it was not.

Abigail's life and Louisa's ended up mirroring each other in so many ways. Both wished for more out of life, and felt that women should be educated, should vote, should work in the world outside of the home if that is what they wished. They both loved to write, and it was Abigail who encouraged Louisa to write stories, keep a journal, and to keep trying. In a way, Louisa had the chance to do things Abigail could only dream of, and that meant the world to her that her daughter's life was more worldly then hers had been.

The author, who is related to Louisa May Alcott, used diaries and writings about the Mays and Alcotts to write this book. Abigail's family, the Mays, were quite active in local Boston politics, religion, and community service. She was brought up with a sense of duty to others, and when her marriage to Bronson Alcott turned out to be less than satisfactory, she worked hard and long to make a good life for her daughters. Until reading this book, I had no idea what a struggle daily life was for the family, as Bronson Alcott made very little money in his lifetime, seeing himself as a man of philosophy and thought, who would be degraded by having a regular job. So it was up to Abigail and the girls from very young ages, to do what they could to keep the family going.

It's pointed out that most of Abigail's diaries were burned by Louisa and her father, at her request, as she did not want just anyone reading them; many of Louisa's diaries had the same end. Abigail's diaries that did survive often were edited by Louisa or Bronson, to keep the world from knowing everything about the family. Though she was an acclaimed writer, Louisa May Alcott did not court celebrity, and did not want others snooping on her life; unlike her father, who wanted everyone to know about him and his philosophy.

I found this book fascinating, as I never knew very much about Louisa May Alcott's mother at all, and did not know a lot about her father besides what most people know about him and his contemporaries, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau.

Besides letting you know more about the family that she drew upon for so much of her writing, this book gives you a detailed insight to the daily life of the family during times in the country's history where momentous events occurred. If you like Louisa May Alcott, or reading about America in the 1800s including the Civil War, I think you will like this book. I sure did!

[Chaitra · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Unhappily, his conversation never loses sight of his own personality….His topic yesterday is Alcott on the 17th October; today, Alcott on the 18th October….", Ralph Waldo Emerson about Bronson Alcott.

This is the quote that defined this book for me. Yes, I know, the book is called Marmee and Louisa. And it is, for the most part, a dual biography of Louisa May Alcott and her mother Abigail "Marmee" Alcott. But, it also, and not too subtly may I add, a criticism of Bronson Alcott. From my reading of Little Women (I have read the sequels, but they don't have the same staying power that Little Women had), and little knowledge of anything but that Louisa May had drawn it from her own childhood, it comes as a total surprise to me that Bronson was the one credited for Louisa's literary success. Mr. March was a largely ineffectual, absent character, whereas Marmee shone through as the guiding light for Jo's creative endeavors. How could people of the time read the book, and still come out belittling Abigail's contribution? This book seeks to address that inequality, and for the most part, it succeeds.

Abigail turns out to be fascinating. She had strong views, and a pathetic husband. She sadly also left him behind with her journals, with the result that he and his daughter Louisa burned most of the embarrassing portions and heavily edited those that remained. It's their prerogative. Even though a lot of material was uncovered (and used in this book), the biography of Abigail draws heavily from other people's understanding of her, and her portrait remains incomplete. Also, we have to contend with Bronson. He obviously did not feel that it was necessary to edit his views. Abigail's tragedy was that she, the sister of a great feminist, was way ahead of her time, and she had the additional burden of being tied to a man who called himself "Genius". No joke. He even looks like a strutting peacock. His thoughts, as shown in the book, do seem to be conventional to the times - he was not an abolitionist, nor a feminist until it became fashionable to do so. He also did not think much of material things - that is, he did not feel the need to provide for his family, but still managed to go through a large amount of other people's money. My heart goes out to poor Abigail, and to Louisa, who felt that she needed to forego her own freedom and happiness so that she could give her mother the happiness and comfort that her father didn't. In fact, that success came too late for Abigail to truly enjoy as she was mostly ill, and I do feel that it was Bronson who revelled in his daughter's success than poor Abigail.

Simply put, I liked the book. Apart from being a biography of two women, it was a treatise on the social conditions of the 1800s. It gave a fascinating insight into the inequities that went into the founding of the country, and also, in retrospect, how far we've come from then. But, it does have some problems. It relies too much on quotations, which, while interesting, made the book slow going. Also, I cannot help but feel that the book was more about Bronson's failings as a father and husband and the pain it caused Abigail than it was about Abigail and Louisa. It falls into the same trap as all the other biographies of the Alcotts, which gave Bronson the lion's share of attention, although in the opposite way. Louisa, I did not feel close to. Her life was only described inasmuch as it overlapped with her parents'. For example, she undertook two trips to Europe, and we hardly know anything about it. It was still very enjoyable though, and I'm obviously happy to have read it. 3 Stars.

I received this book via Goodreads Giveaway

[Anne Rioux · Rating 5 out of 5]

Louisa May Alcott's mother, who figures as Marmee in Little Women, has been a mystery until Eve LaPlante mined her surviving journals (many were destroyed) and uncovered a complex, fiercely independent, and powerfully maternal woman. After reading about Alcott's relationship with her father, this book was illuminating in so many ways. It provides a more realistic look at the hardships the family faced and the tensions within the family that threatened to pull it apart many times.

This passage from Abigail's journals pretty much sums up Abigail May Alcott's life bound to a man whose at times fanatical idealism robbed her of her health and sanity, as she worked to support a family he was ready many times to abandon: "A woman may perform the most disinterested duties. She may 'die daily' in the cause of truth and righteousness. She lives neglected, dies forgotten. But a man who never performed in his whole life one self-denying act, but who has accidental gifts of genius, is celebrated by his contemporaries, while his name and his works live on, from age to age. He is crowned with laurel, while scarce a 'stone may tell where she lies.'" Thankfully, LaPlante has provided much more than a stone to show us how Abigail lived, suffered, loved, and died. She was a fascinating woman in her own right and deserves to be as well, if not better, knwon than her philosopher husband, Bronson Alcott.

[Christina Baehr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really unveils what a derelict husband and father Bronson Alcott was, and how his wife Abigail became the de facto breadwinner and head of the family after marrying him for the promise of an unconventional egalitarian love-match. His radical Pelagian beliefs and probable narcissistic personality disorder made him a nightmare to live with. This is really a family tragedy, but it gave me a new respect for what Louisa achieved. Not as well written as the Pulitzer Prize winning biog of Bronson I read, but an important companion to it.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marmee & Louisa by Eve LaPlante was the perfect book to read after reading the ARC Louisa on the Front Lines by Samantha Seiple and Meg Jo Beth Amy by Anne Boyd Rioux. LaPlante, who is a distant cousin to Louisa May Alcott, had access to family documents and letters. Her book concentrates on the relationship between mother Abigail May Alcott and daughter Louisa while also covering the entire family and Louisa's career.

I very much enjoyed the book, but I didn't always like all the characters...okay, one character...Bronson Alcott, the patriarch.

Abigail May worked her entire life for women's rights and equality and abolition. Her brother was a leader in the Unitarian church, suffrage movement, and an ardent abolitionist.

Abigail was unable to have the formal education her brother Samuel enjoyed, but read his books and educated herself with his help. She aspired to be a teacher, someone who contributed to the world.

Then she met the charismatic Bronson, a self-educated man with big ideas and a golden tongue. They fell in love and Abigail hitched her wagon to his star. Samuel was smitten, too, as eventually was all the Transcendentalists who later supported Bronson...even when they became weary of him.

That support was not just in philosophy and friendship but financial. Bronson was too radical to keep his teaching positions and too intent on "higher things" to worry about how to put food on the table or a roof over the heads of his growing family. And he traveled--a lot--leaving his family to fend for themselves.

Abigail relied on the compassion of their friends and family but also found any work she could--sewing, teaching, social work, nursing. Young Louisa felt for her mother and pledged to aid the family. She took jobs she disliked but also as a teenager started to write stories for magazines. They were sensational, Gothic thrillers that brought in quick cash. She was particularly adept at imagining these tales.

Perhaps because she was so familiar with the powerlessness of women from watching her mother's toil, hardships, physical exhaustion and decline, mental anguish, while also indulging in acts of charity and working for abolition and women's right to vote.

Louisa was an active girl and young woman, wary of love and thirsting for the wider world, when at thirty she signed up to work as a nurse caring for the wounded men of the Civil War. Within six weeks she became ill and was near to death when Bronson came to take her home. Abigail nursed Louisa back to life, if not health; for the rest of Louisa's 56 years, she suffered from ill health, perhaps from Lupus.

Louisa kept writing and when Little Women was published became a sensation. She was able to finally support her family as she had always wanted, taking the burden off Abigail.

For the rest of her life, Louisa took care of her mother and family. She fulfilled her mother's dream by voting in an election.

The love and care between these women, Abigail and Louisa, is touching and inspiring, their strength of will humbling, their story timeless.

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

“’There are plenty [of people] to love you,’ Marmee tells Jo in Little Women, “so try to be satisfied with father and mother, sisters and brother, friends and babies, till the best lover of all comes to give you your reward.’

Louisa’s alter ego replies, ‘Mothers are the best lovers in the world; but I don’t mind whispering to Marmee, that I’d like to try all kinds. It’s very curious, but the more I try to satisfy myself with all sorts of natural affections, the more I seem to want.’” (qtd. on 281)

Eve LaPlante’s dual biography of Louisa May Alcott and her mother, Abigail May Alcott, is a satisfying read. Although I have only read one of Alcott’s novels, Little Women, along with a handful of her short stories, I am very interested in biographies of non-traditional nineteenth and early twentieth century women. Louisa was a dutiful daughter. But, she also felt resentments akin to those that Jane Eyre realizes on the roof of Thornfield Manor.

LaPlante grants Abigail and Louisa equal page time in this volume—and, at first, I wasn’t sure if I would be equally enthralled by the experiences of the relatively unfamous woman, by the one who has been reduced to an image of the ideal mother. However, I was surprised by how absorbed I became in the account of Abigail’s efforts to avoid an arranged marriage, to marry the man she loved, despite paternal disapproval--and her heroic struggles to support her daughters when her husband proved unwilling and unable.

Since I have not read other biographies of Louisa, I can’t quite imagine how Abigail’s influence might be diminished when compared with that of Louisa’s narcissistic father. (LaPlante aims to compensate for previous critical neglect of maternal influence.) I must say that I loved Emerson’s perspective on Bronson Alcott:

"I would as soon exert myself to collect money for a madman….I know no man who speaks such good English as he…He takes such delight in the exercise of this faculty that he will willingly talk the whole of the day, and most part of the night, and then again tomorrow….Unhappily, his conversation never loses sight of his own personality….His topic yesterday is Alcott on the 17th October; today, Alcott on the 18th October….I do not want any more such persons to exist." (qtd. on 110)

La Plante’s prose style is likely to appeal to the non-scholar, though the extensive notes and bibliography should prove useful to those who are conducting research on Louisa May Alcott or on abolitionists and suffragists of the era. I was particularly interested in La Plante’s discussion of the influence of Margaret Fuller and Lydia Maria Child.

I am grateful to First Reads for providing me with this opportunity to review an Advanced Reader’s Edition of Marmee & Louisa.

[Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Through the description of this close mother-daughter bond, we finally have a realistic picture of the Alcott family dynamics. Eve LaPlante, using original letters and journal fragments she inherited from her May forbears, discusses what should have been obvious: Abigail May Alcott was the main influence on Louisa Mae Alcott, not her father, Bronson.

This book challenges conventional wisdom on the Alcott family. The Pulitzer Prize winning Eden's Outcasts: The Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Fatherfocuses on Bronson as an influence, with Abigail in the background. Louisa May Alcott credits Bronson Alcott's work on abolition, but LaPlante shows he was originally uncertain about slavery (p. 142) and when he changed his thinking, his contributions to the cause was miniscule (especially when compared to those of his May in-laws). Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind Little Women comes much closer to LaPlante's rendering, giving a sympathetic portrait of Abigail Mae Alcott and how well she managed her plight.

How did it happen that Bronson Alcott was credited with influencing his daughter's literary development? Did we really need these new papers to see the true dynamic? Conventional wisdom recognizes the March Family as the "May" Family; Marmee is loving, wise and, well, perfect, and the March father never present. But conventional wisdom has ignored Bronson's long absences, his taking young children into his Fruitlands experiment, and his total unwillingness or inability to support his family.

LaPlante shows how Abigail made the best of a very bad situation. Her hands were tied. She had no right to her own property, inheritance, earnings or children. Even those promoting the cause of abolition (a cause more dear to Mrs. Alcott than her husband) barred women from their meetings. She was the full emotional and financial support for all four girls. In divorce she would lose her children, and they would lose her and be with their prodigal father. For the sake of her children Abigail worked hard and succeeded as a mother and head of household. Louisa, as is shown in this book, was most like Abigail in thought and temperament. Bronson notes this, in ways that show disrespect to both.

The material presented here shows a much higher feminist consciousness than has been presented before. While in her writing life, Louisa chose best sellers over feminist tracts, she created strong female characters and supported the causes of woman's rights. Some of the quotes show deep emotion on women's issues.

While the book shows the strong bond between mother and daughter, there is another, very strong bond presented: brother and sister. Abigail's brother, Samuel Johnson May, is very much involved with his sister's family, He is impressive and worth a biography of his own. A brave abolitionist and staunch feminist, he personally aided over 1000 slaves through the Underground Railroad and stood up to crowds that fought against education for free blacks. He supported women's membership and right to speak in the abolition movement and in churches. He was a friend of the more famous William Lloyd Garrison, who spoke at his funeral. May is a founder of the Syracuse Public Library and forced Cornell University to accept women as a condition of the donation of his papers.

While the narrative is not boring, I wanted to be a page turner, and it wasn't. It is for the content that I'm giving it a 5 star rating and not 4.

[Elise A · Rating 5 out of 5]

Louisa May Alcott is one of my heroes, right up there with Jane Austen. The lives of these women outweigh the greatness of their works, which is immense.
If you love Little Women, in any form, you will like the “behind the scenes”—the uncut, complete version of the Alcott family offered in this thoroughly researched book.

I’m one who likes to dive deep into a subject or historical background and learn all I can through many resources. Years ago during an Alcott deep dive I read and enjoyed March by Geraldine Brooks, The Other Alcott: A Novel by Elise Hooper, and even visited Orchard House, Waldon Pond, and other nearby stomping grounds as well as the full Boston and American Revolution tour.

Through these efforts I gained so much appreciation for the Alcott women, their strength in poverty, their commitment to human rights, abolition of slavery, women’s suffrage, their independence as women in the workforce, and their pure undying faith in God.

In Le Plante’s book we learn much more of the of the May/Alcott family tree. They were friends, neighbors, and relatives to many of America’s greatest historical figures. Reading about the comings and goings, participation in meetings and gatherings, and private moments with the Who’s Who of American History is almost mind boggling. Abigail May, Louisa’s mother and “Marmee,” bore so much of the burden, as did her own mother, and then Louisa did later. Like Jane Austen, these women constantly cared for invalids, orphans, failing fathers, and less fortunates, all the while finding ways to earn money. Like Austen and her sister and mother, the Alcotts were fairly nomadic, not having a home of their own, moving often from one meager living to another, never quite making it on a preacher’s income, or lack there of.

Also like Austen, Alcott never married and never had children. They both suffered greatly from debilitating autoimmune disease that took them far too young. But both women braved the world through their progressive thoughts and wit, their fortunes eventually provided for their siblings’ posterity. Both humble women were feminists in the most positive sense of the word. They contributed to our world in ways they never foresaw.

When it comes to Little Women, I have loved this book my whole life. I have just about every version I could buy including the toddler board book retold by Mandy Archer, art by Ela Smietanka.
I grew up with no sisters, therefore I devoured and envied stories about families full of sisters—Little Women, Pride and Prejudice at the top of the list.

I highly recommend this for anyone who loves American History, or biographies, or who have a shallow knowledge of women authors. The Tantor Media audiobook narrated by Karen White is fantastic.
In the final chapter: Exploring the America of Abigail and Louisa May Alcott, you will find a comprehensive tour of the physical sites of the Alcott family history, an excellent resource for making a bucket list of places to see.

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Marmee & Louisa" was a fascinating look at America before, during and after the Civil War. It is the story of Louisa May Alcott and her amazing mother. They counted many well-known historical figures among their friends and family. Abigail, (Marmee), was John Hancock's niece and related to Abigail Adams, wife of President John Adams. Their friends included Walt Whitman, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Susan B. Anthony, Emerson and Thoreau. Abigail Alcott was very well-connected in Boston society with prominent judges, educators and preachers in her family.

Abigail and her brother, Samuel Joseph, were early activists in the movements to abolish slavery and to gain women's right to vote. Louisa was influenced and encouraged by her mother to became an activist particularly in the women's rights. Influenced by her mother's difficult marriage, she concluded that a woman could not pursue a career successfully and also be a wife and mother. Her father, Bronson Alcott, never supported the family. He was frequently absent, leaving the responsibility of feeding, clothing and housing the four girls to Marmee. They were so poor that only the youngest girl went to school as the others were needed to help out the household. Luckily, Marmee saw Louisa's need and provided her with journals to record her life.

From the age of 15, Louisa was determined to earn enough money to help Marmee support the family as her mother's health was declining. Louisa's lifelong goal was to provide a comfortable life for her mother. She became very wealthy as the most popular author in America and provided a very comfortable life for her mother and sisters.

This book was written by Louisa's great-niece who discovered many of Abagail's and Louisa's journals in a family attic. Unfortunately, many of the journals were destroyed by Bronson & Louisa after Marmee's death.

This book was a gift from Goodreads so I would be glad to loan it to anyone who wants to read it.

[Jaylia3 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Louisa May Alcott’s mother Abigail (or Marmee) gets her due by being front and center in this informative, fascinating, and sometimes heartbreaking book. Although much more has been written about Louisa’s idealistic but self-centered father Bronson Alcott, author Eve LaPlante makes a convincing case that it was her mother Louisa was closest to and most like.

Abigail was a lively, convention breaking young woman, and was at least as bent on improving the world as her husband--for instance she embraced the anti-slavery and women’s rights movements long before he did. It was Abigail who gave Louisa journals and encouraged her to write, and because Bronson was often away on trips it was Abigail who had the main responsibility for nurturing and providing for their daughters. Bronson doesn’t come across very well here, even the other Transcendentalists become disillusioned with him, and one of his roles in Louisa’s success is that since he considered himself too important for anything so crass as earning a living Louisa became an author to earn the money her family badly needed.

Marmee & Louisa provides a fascinating look at life, especially for women, in the middle years of the nineteenth century. With its communes and movements for social change, it’s an era that reminds me of the idealism and change the world passion of the late 1960’s.

[julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

casi cualquier persona q m conozca podrá decir lo loca q estoy con esta mujer, y dp d leer este libro aviso q lo estoy aún más y m declaro la mayor experta en el tema q existe (en el octavo izquierda dd vivo, al menos). muy emocionante ver cómo louisa m. alcott era una chica cuya mejor amiga era su madre. q sentía tanta devoción por ella q se ponía a sí misma en segundo plano en su propia vida. q este vínculo tan grande (con la responsabilidad q sentía para con sus padres) realmente la asfixiaba e hizo q no disfrutase de la vida (o al menos no como lo haría una mujer de la pre y post guerra civil americana). Sabía q "mujercitas" era más o menos autobiográfico, pero no podía imaginar cuánto; creo q lo único d invención q tiene la novela son los finales felices q le d a cada hermana (exceptuando a la pobre beth, claro). podría escribir quinientas palabras más sobre lo q siento con este libro, pero sólo diré q imprimiré una foto d louisa, la enmarcare y la pondré en mi mesilla como si fuese mi marido q murió en la guerra. lo buscaré en wallapop hasta q m sangren los dedos

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is nonfiction about the Alcott family, namely Marmee and Louisa. This felt well researched and I enjoyed the historical aspect of this. It is interesting to think about how people can experience/witness the exact same things, but the take-away by each person is so different. Things affect each person differently. The author showed how relationships are like that.

At times this felt slow and a little textbook-y. I listened to this in small chunks over many days. But I still liked this, so 3 stars.

[Orinoco Womble (tidy bag and all) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven't finished this yet, but I do find it a revelation. I'm actually listening to the Audiobook, which means I can't check footnotes etc. as I might with an ebook or paper book. It turns out that Branson Alcott was a self-made man, to the point of changing his name from Alcox to something more "aristocratic". In my youth he would have been called a spellbinder or simply shiftless--"unable to make or keep" in my mother's old phrase. He saw himself as "Christ resurrected"--no wonder he couldn't keep a job teaching the 19th century young. I am strongly reminded of the life of Richard Bach, the author of "Jonathan Livingstone Seagull" who decided he "didn't believe in marriage" after having 5 children, all of whom he left with his wife when he went off on a journey of self-discovery.

[Audrey Ashbrook · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marmee and Louisa by Eva LaPlante is a dual biography of both Lousia May Alcott and her mother, Abigail Alcott (May).

 Eva LaPlante is Louisa's Uncle Samuel Joseph May's great-great-great-granddaughter, and it was fascinating to read about the May family history and their involvement as abolitionists and women's rights advocates in and around Boston in the 1800s. I had no idea that Louisa's great-aunt Dorothy Quincy was married to John Hancock! 

This was an excellent book that described Abigail's life and Louisa's life, and their special bond as mother and daughter. I loved how much Abigail encouraged Louisa and how alike they were. I also loved how each of them kept a journal each year. Reading this made me want to journal more consistently, like they did. 

The Alcotts didn't have an easy life, since Bronson Alcott was absent so often and made hardly any money teaching because of his methods. It was interesting to read about Louisa's thoughts on labor, and the steep divide between the lives of the rich and poor. Louisa was wholeheartedly devoted to her mother and the wellbeing of her family, finally becoming rich after publishing Little Women in 1868 at age thirty-six. It was interesting to read about how her writing changed her life so completely. 

Another compelling idea that LaPlante expanded on was how marriage affacted women's lives; she went into detail about Abigail and Bronson's tumultuous marriage, and Louisa's subsequent aversion to marriage. She also described her conflicting feelings toward Anna's marriage, May's marriage, and the marriages of her characters in Little Women. 

Louisa's life mirrored that of her heroine Jo March, as well as did her own family as the March family. I love seeing the similarities and the differences. 

This was an excellent dual biography and had some extra insight since it was written by a descendant of Louisa's uncle.

[Patty · Rating 3 out of 5]

” This baby seemed different to him. Louisa was larger and healthier than Anna at birth, delightfully “fat” and “fine.” She had “a fair complexion, dark bright eyes, long dark hair, a high forehead, and altogether a countenance of more than usual intelligence” a friend said of the new baby.” p. 59-60

The first thing you need to know is that Louisa May Alcott is one of my heroes. I did not start with Little Women like most readers, but with An Old Fashioned Girl. I liked the story, but I especially liked the cover. Once I read Little Women, Alcott could do no wrong. I collected some of her novels and read everything by her that I could find. I was fairly sure that she was the best writer ever for a long, long time. So given that, it is not surprising that this book drew my attention.

The next thing that led me to reading this dual biography is that I was an English major in college. One of my favorite professors taught a class in American Transcendentalists. We even took a road trip to Concord, MA so that we could see where Emerson and Thoreau had lived. Tony Santore (my professor) even “baptized” my copy of Walden with water from The Pond.

Since I went to college in the late 1970’s, we did not discuss any of the women that might have been involved with this philosophical movement. However, Bronson Alcott was mentioned and his community, Fruitlands, caught my attention. (I had a thing for intentional communities.)

Well, thanks to LaPlante, Bronson Alcott has my attention again. Let me first say that although I found this book to have a slow start, I was very glad to find out more about Louisa and her mother. Their relationship was so strong. Without her mother, Louisa would have never accomplished what she did. Not only did her mother support Louisa in every way possible, but it was clear to Louisa by age fifteen that Abigail, her mother needed her help. The family was destitute and only Abigail was keeping them in food, clothing and shelter.

Which brings me back to Bronson. In an era when men were considered to be the main breadwinners for their families, Bronson was unable to do so. I want to give him the benefit of doubt, but I am so angry with him. (This is very illogical, I know.) I understand that he was an original thinker and as bound by his times as both Abigail and Louisa were, but he did not see how much pain he created within his family. I believe he should have been more grateful to his wife and daughters for all they did to support him.

I am grateful to LaPlante for showing me a different side of nineteenth century America. Before reading this, I knew nothing about how women fared in Alcott’s era. I have learned a great deal about the Alcotts, their relatives and their times. I did not know that Lousia grew up in an atmosphere where women’s rights and abolition of slavery were important. In reality, I knew nothing about Abigail Alcott at all and little about Louisa May Alcott. There are facets to Louisa that I couldn’t even imagine when I was reading her novels. Also I am so very happy to have learned about Samuel May, Abigail’s brother. He was an amazing man.

I recommend this biography to anyone with an interest in the inhabitants of Concord, MA, to lovers of Little Women and to folks to find stories of famous people interesting.

[Kristi · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's wonderful to finally have a book dedicated to the relationship between Louisa May Alcott and her mother, Abigail May Alcott. LaPlante does well to bring Abigail to greater attention. Abigail Alcott was a dynamic, passionate, strong and inspiring woman. This book is a nice compliment to John Matteson's recent biography of Louisa and her father, Bronson Alcott. However, I do not think that Laplante has matched Matteson's accomplishment. I do not think that LaPlante's book makes significant revelations regarding the mother daughter relationship relationship, nor do I agree that Abigail's influence on her daughter has been ignored or dismissed by Alcott's scholars. LaPlante, who is a distant cousin of Louisa May Alcott, uses biographical readings of Louisa's fiction that are focused toward the influence of Abigail and the May family, to demonstrate Abigail's influence on her famous daughter. While this approach is valid, it is also limiting. I was furthermore deeply saddened by LaPlante's negatively biased portrayal of Bronson Alcott. He was a flawed individual, but he was not all bad. Abigail loved her husband deeply and had good reasons to do so. A more balanced portrayal would have done better justice to both Bronson and Abigail. This is something which Matteson achieves that LaPlante has not.

What LaPlante succeeds at is bringing Abigail to the fore of the Alcott story. She should be commended for this. In several instances she does make good use of unpublished archival material. One of the strongest aspects in the book is LaPlante's treatment of Abigail's relationship with her brother Samuel Joseph May. I think LaPlante might have done well to have written her book about sister and brother rather than mother and daughter, as it often felt that her narrative was pulling in the direction of Samuel May and that this is where her interest truly lay. It would have made for a compelling story,as well as one new to scholarship.

[QNPoohBear · Rating 5 out of 5]

This new biography, by a relative of Abigail May Alcott's pieces together a story largely from forgotten primary sources. After Abigail died, the family burned her diaries and many of her letters. Bronson edited and copied over other papers and so scholars believed there was nothing from Abigail herself. As a librarian and historian, I appreciated all the hard work Eve LaPlante did to locate personal papers of the Mays and Alcotts. She did an amazing job compiling information and adding to the body of knowledge that already exists. The book is easy to read and well-written. The story of Abigail's early years is fascinating. I knew a lot of the rest from reading books about Louisa and visits to Orchard House, but I still learned a lot from reading Abigail's own words. I have always admired Louisa and now I know how she came by passions for writing and social justice. Abigail must have been a saint and I admire her greatly now. The book made me hate Bronson. I think he must have been a narcissist. The story of Abigail and Bronson's marriage is heartbreaking. (Yet I'm glad because it gave Louisa the drive to succeed and gave us Little Women, etc.). There's an extensive bibliography in the back containing lists of primary and secondary sources. I've read many of the secondary sources in my own research and some are a bit outdated but important scholarly works. I highly recommend this book to Louisa May Alcott fans and scholars of nineteenth century women's history.

[Frrobins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought I knew the Alcotts from reading "Little Women." I thought wrong. The story of the Alcott's is different from that of the Marches. Included in it is the story of the history of the Abolitionist movement and the Women's Suffrage movement. Abigail Alcott, Louisa May Alcott, Samuel Joseph May and others are the Americans you can look back on in history and be proud of.

This was not just the story of social movements, though, it is also the story of a dysfunctional family. I'd always assumed that Mr. March was modeled after Louisa's father, Bronson. Actually, he was modeled after her uncle, Samuel Joseph May. Bronson, who was such an idealist that he could never manage to make money, came out in an extremely bad light.

This is also more of Abigail's story than Louisa's. LaPlante adequately describes the social prejudices that for so long prevented Abigail from having full credit as an influence in her daughter's intellectual life. It is a mark of how far we have come and why we must make sure we do not go back.

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Second time reading this and loved it all over again. Abigail is just as fascinating and inspirational as her daughter. I appreciate that this biography brings her to life and highlights the bond between the two women and the undeniable influence Abigail had on Louisa.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Damn, really good. This was a fantastic biography that was well researched and enlightening. It moved me in a way that was unexpected.

I'm grateful the author undertook the endeavor of writing this biography about the relationship between the famous author and her mother. It was so interesting to read about what almost seemed like a marriage between a mother and her daughter. After her mothers death, Louisa said she felt like a widow. This makes sense after reading this biography - her relationship with her mother was the most important of her life.

I was hoping for a photo of mother and daughter, but only one exists and it is from afar, both as adults. I hungered to see this missing photo of them together as mother and child, just the two of them, close up, an intimate portrait. But then I realized the biography I just read was that intimate portrait.

Both mother and daughter were born in interesting times: the mother (Abagail May) as the American Revolution was in the rear view mirror and her daughter (Louisa May Alcott) was born amidst another revolution heating up - that of abolitionists and suffragists. The rich melting pot of history that Louisa's family was part of is mind-blowing. She has family ties to founding fathers, the Salem Witch Trials, and the first published essay against slavery in America. Her uncle, William Dawes, took that same famous ride that Paul Revere did. Another uncle was John Hancock. His wife Aunt Q was immortalized in Louisa's works. The backdrop of her life was riveting. The civil war had been simmering all of Louisa's life. The biography brought all of this to life as the current events they were for Louisa.

Quite a bit of time was spent on Abagail's childhood. For about half the book, it reads more like a biography of Abagail than Louisa. There was definitely a sense of how we all stand on the shoulders of those that came before. This biography shows us the generations it took to create the possibility of someone like Louisa.

One of the crucial things you learn upon reading this biography is that the father figure in "Little Women" is based more upon Louisa's mother than her father. It's clear that Louisa's mother was the masculine force in her life. The reason the fictional father is missing for most of "Little Women" is because it was Louisa's experience in real life that her father just wasn't around much, even when he was physically there. Yet, as history moved along, her father was lauded as the biggest influence in Louisa's life. Misogyny demanded the lie.

This biography brings to light that Louisa's rock star writing career was based on talent as well as luck. If she hadn't been asked to write girl's fiction, it's likely she might never have bothered. It's hard to fathom now, but the idea of girls fiction was new at the time. There weren't any grand examples to light Louisa's way. She was really in the right place at the right time. Literacy was skyrocketing and there was a hole to be filled. When fate finally came knocking on Louisa's door, we're about two-thirds into the biography. In a way, making the journey with her ancestors before we see Louisa get that offer gives it more weight than it would have had otherwise. It really helped to not only understand the offer but how she ended up writing what she wrote because of that offer.

We all know writers can reframe their past in a different light if they wish. It's a way to sometimes rewrite history as they wish it had been. That's what "Little Women" was for Louisa. Her family life had always been less than ideal. So she idealized it in "Little Women."

Having little to guide her in writing girls fiction was a blessing. Her protagonist was unlike anyone else in literature. It seems so normal now, but back then it was revolutionary to read about a moody imaginative and creative intellectual young woman. Not that this type of girl didn't exist in real life, it just wasn't written about in such a positive way.

While I always understood that Louisa was a big deal in my lifetime, I hadn't realized what a big deal she was in her own lifetime. In a time when women were made to feel they needed to publish anonymously or under a masculine pseudonym, she was one of the most successful writers of her time, outselling her male counterparts. She was sort of the JK Rowling of her time as she became incredibly wealthy. At the time of her death, she had earned more money than any male author of her time.

While the money was welcome, the fame that came along with it wasn't. It just wasn't the icing on the cake for her at all. In the end, one feels that if Louisa's life hadn't been so unusual, she might not have had the success that she did. For some it may seem sad that she never had children. But I don't get the sense that she was unfulfilled because of that. Though she seemed to be unfulfilled in some way as toward the end of her life, Louisa wrote "Freedom was always my longing but I never had it." Though, this was likely a common feeling amongst women of her time.

I ached watching Louisa watch over her mother toward the end. I then cringed when after Abagail's death, her husband read through her journals and letters with the idea to write a biography. When he read them, he was surprised at how his wife had seen their marriage. In true misogynistic fashion, he burned some of her papers, the ones that embarrassed him most. He had paid so little attention to anyone other than himself, he had zero clue how unhappy she had been in their marriage.

Louisa also burned some of her mother's papers as she had done to some of her old diaries fearing biographers after she was gone. The irony is if it hadn't been for Louisa's fame, all the family papers might have been left intact. And they would be worth reading regardless of Louisa's fame.

It was so painfully poignant and a little spooky how her father died and Louisa never knew it. She left his bedside to rest, he died and she died shortly after. She shared a birthday with her father and she followed him into death within days. It's like she sent him off and knew she could go finally. I hadn't realized she had been ill most of her life.

Both Louisa and Abagail hoped women would one day stand equal to men and run governments and vote and travel and speak their minds in public. Neither of them achieved this dream in their lifetimes. Those of us that do speak our minds, stand on the shoulders of women like Louisa and Abagail (for being brave enough to have that dream for themselves and for us).

Even as we are disheartened by the need of an emboldening "me too" movement, we should be emboldened to take the journey all the way now. It took 100 years after slavery ended for the demand for equal treatment to bubble up as the civil rights movement of the 1960s. It's no mistake or happenstance that the me-too movement is happening near the 100-year anniversary of women getting the vote. It's no mistake that we have more work to do. The status quo must end and we need to make it about equality for all of us. All women need to take the lead now. Until at least fifty-percent of world leaders are female and at least that, if not more, at all levels of government, we will have a long road ahead of us.

I think Louisa would have appreciated what The Notorious RBG said when asked how many women should be on the supreme court. She replied nine. The asker was shocked, but RBG pointed out the obvious. For most of our history, we have had nine male supreme court justices - so why not an all-female supreme court. Why not an all female congress? Why not the next ten U.S. Presidents being all female? I can't think of one damn reason why not. Can you?

Note: This was a stellar biography that is worth your time. I wish I had known when I read this or wrote this review that Louisa may be a cousin through my great great grandmother's family line (still need to vet the path). Either way, she is someone that has already resonated with me. There are some significant parallels in my life and hers too.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't mark books as "favorites" very often, but this book is simply incredible. What an interesting reading journey it's been lately: to go from hate-reading "Little Women," to enjoying "The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott" but questioning some of the liberties taken with the Alcott sisters' lives, to now making it a newfound hobby to HATE Bronson Alcott with a fiery passion I didn't even know I had in me! This book, written by a descendant of Louisa May Alcott's mother, peels away the layers of the Mays and the Alcotts (there are quite a few Mays, and it's easy to get lost in all the names, at least in audiobook form) to reveal two fierce female feminists and the social, political, geographical, and economic environments that engendered their progressive beliefs. LaPlante has done research so thorough that it's astounding. She's ready with an answer to every "but why..." question the reader might answer. Why DIDN'T Abigail May Alcott just leave the good-for-nothing Bronson? LaPlante is ready with an answer about marital property laws and the limitations they inflicted on women. Why DIDN'T Abigail, Louisa, and her sisters just get better paying jobs to support the family? LaPlante is right there with a takedown of the limited employment opportunities available to women, especially to so-called "respectable" women. It's a bittersweet story--the way these strong, smart women had to sacrifice in pursuit of what they wanted in life, and particularly the way in which Louisa was never able to fully reconcile her desire for both a life of independence and a life with love. In addition to reading like a fiction novel (better than a fiction novel, actually), this book is an elegant reconstruction of all the reasons why we still need to smash the patriarchy.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read a biography about Louisa May Alcott and her dad called Eden's Outcasts. After reading this biography I realized you really have to take into account who is writing someone's biography. In Eden's Outcasts, Bronson Alcott is a very complicated person, but this book clearly makes him out as a dead beat dad. This book is written by an ancestor of Abigail Alcott, Louisa's mom, so you have to take that into account. Bronson would not provide for his family so Abigail had to constantly ask friends and family for money which was completely distressing for her. They never had money and women had few options. A lot of this book is about the antislavery movement and about women's rights. Louisa May Alcott being a proponent of both. They participated in the underground railroad. So this book starts when Abigail was born so first we go through her life. There were so many names I would get very confused, but there was a family tree in the book to help. John Hancock was Abigail's Uncle so there is so much history with the Alcott family. They also had a judge in the family who condemned witches in the 1600s. He later realized how wrong it was and begged forgiveness. My one issue in this book is that there are numbered notes in the back but no footnotes in the pages. That was so confusing. There were times I wanted to know where something came from and I had to look through the notes and guess which note went with the passage. Overall an excellent history of Abigail and Louisa.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating book. While I've long known about Bronson, and his head-in-the-clouds attitudes, I had no idea that Louisa's mother was so socially/politically engaged. She was an abolitionist and early proponent of women's rights. According to this book, she was THE major influence on Louisa. Her story definitely deserved to be told.

[Brigid Keely · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Marmee and Louisa: The Untold Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Mother," by Eve LaPlante, takes a long look at a pivotal and influential yet seldom discussed figure in Louisa May Alcott's life: her mom.

Although her unemployed "genius" father was hailed as the guiding force of "Louie" Alcott's writing, it was actually her mother who noted her talent, nurtured it, encouraged her. Bronson Alcott was frequently absent, and preferred his other daughters to L. M. who he felt took too much after her mother. More than once he wondered in his journal if they were possessed by devils, although he apparently didn't go into detail as to what devils or why he thought that. While he lamented his staggering genius and inability to make money (which would have involved, like, getting a job or something else that was hard and/or beneath his genius) Abigail May (Marmee) took in what work she could (sewing, lodgers) and managed to keep her small family fed and clothed and housed in a time when it was nearly impossible for a woman to earn money, and not at all possible for a woman to divorce her husband... unless she wanted him to gain control of all her property including her children.

Abigail May, and Louisa, were Abolitionists and Suffragists. They, and many of their family members (including men) were Feminists. Abigail May raised her female children to be as educated and self reliant as possible, lamenting the inequalities that kept them from having the same opportunities and advantages that male children would have (and did) have. Abigail May worked hard to achieve Suffrage for women and for Black Americans, and Louisa did the same.

It's shocking just how much credit is given to Bronson Alcott and so little given to Abigail May, when Abigail is the one who actually raised Louisa.

This is a really good, interesting book that sheds quite a bit of light on Alcott's life and family. I read her children's stories as a kid and felt kinship with Jo March (May, March, get it? GET IT?), always felt the Temperance aspects of her stories was a bit odd, loved the kindly uncle's insistence on clothing a girl could move in, in the "Rose" stories. So many of Alcott's stories are about women doing womanly things, though, that I never realized what a strong feminist she was. Even Jo winds up married, raising kids, putting off her dreams of writing. I felt as a kid that some of her female characters wound up chafing under their womanly roles. And maybe I was meant to.

If you're interested in Louisa May Alcott, feminism, or history, check this book out. It's well written and fascinating.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I mowed through this book in six days. It's brilliant. The author weaves all the major historical events of the time with the lives of the women, Abigail and Louisa May Alcott, seamlessly, comparing their struggles against that of women and slaves in the country throughout this turbulent time in American history.

I grew up reading "Little Women" and have considered it one of my most influential and important books, but I never bothered to research the woman who wrote it. Louisa and her mother were both figures in the abolitionist and suffrage movements. They were good friends of Thoreau, Emerson, Hawthorne, Margaret Fuller, and Susan B. Anthony. The trials and tribulations suffered by Abigail Alcott (mostly due to her station as a woman and by her self-absorbed husband who WOULD NOT seek gainful employment ever, thus rendering their marriage and Louisa's childhood, one of poverty and struggle) are largely ignored by history and her amazing fortitude and self-sacrifice likely considered to be the typical by-product of being born a woman in the 19th century: common and expected. Abigail is mostly an afterthought in many histories but here gets her due and proper respect.

I am also pleased that the biographer doesn't delve into gossipy or lurid speculations about LMA's sexuality or private life in that respect (she chose to be a spinster to take care of her mother and write as opposed to raising a family) and I think that lends the history a much more respectful tone.

An amazing book, and one that leaves this writer/mother pondering the nature of both occupations in a time where the women's struggle seems to be rearing its head again.

[Brooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. Little Women is one of my favorites, so I've always been interested in Louisa May Alcott and her family. It was especially interesting to be given a view of Louisa's relationship with her mother after having read Eden's Outcasts in which her relationship with her father is detailed. The Boston area during the 1800s was populated with fascinating people, and I loved seeing them intersect with the Alcotts and their relations. Now I have to go back to Boston (a marvelous place to visit, I might add) and visit Orchard House and as many other Alcott-related sites as I can.

I actually became mad at Bronson numerous times while reading as his "I have too many high ideals; condescending to earn money is out of the question" attitude continually left his family high and dry and forced Abigail and Louisa and all to pick up the slack he left. Being let in on the life-long struggles of these women to find their places in a society where women weren't allowed to speak publicly has given me a greater appreciation of the freedom and rights I enjoy.

Read it. :)