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The Bee and the Fly: The Improbable Correspondence of Louisa May Alcott and Emily Dickinson
Emily Dickinson and Louisa May Alcott lived in Massachusetts contemporaneously. One, reticent, cloistered, unknown, and largely unpublished spent her life on her family’s compound. The other a boisterous, acclaimed, successful adventurer was recognizable to the entire reading public. And yet, each woman read and revered the essays of Emerson and craved the attention of the critic and editor Thomas Wentworth Higginson. They were mutual friends of writer Helen Hunt Jackson and sculptor Daniel Chester French, among others.
What if Emily Dickinson and Louisa May Alcott had heard of each other, or, as proper Victorian ladies might, had corresponded?
It seems they did.
"The Bee and the Fly: The Improbable Correspondence of Louisa May Alcott and Emily Dickinson" presents a lifelong exchange of letters between Dickinson, the reclusive poet, and Alcott, the most renowned author of the time. What could Alcott say to Dickinson about abolitionism and women's rights? What might Dickinson reveal to Alcott about marriage and eternity? Researched for over five years and drawing heavily on biographical facts, these luminous letters present a believable friendship that explores the questions of family responsibilities, women’s growing influence in the literary world, the cost of fame, and the power of sorority.
Voiced by two authors who fully inhabit the personae of the nineteenth-century correspondents, the letters begin with a timid request from Dickinson to a “sister writer” and end with her death and the concealment of the letters. What is ultimately revealed through a lifetime of dispatches makes their secret correspondence not only plausible but delightfully possible.
What if Emily Dickinson and Louisa May Alcott had heard of each other, or, as proper Victorian ladies might, had corresponded?
It seems they did.
"The Bee and the Fly: The Improbable Correspondence of Louisa May Alcott and Emily Dickinson" presents a lifelong exchange of letters between Dickinson, the reclusive poet, and Alcott, the most renowned author of the time. What could Alcott say to Dickinson about abolitionism and women's rights? What might Dickinson reveal to Alcott about marriage and eternity? Researched for over five years and drawing heavily on biographical facts, these luminous letters present a believable friendship that explores the questions of family responsibilities, women’s growing influence in the literary world, the cost of fame, and the power of sorority.
Voiced by two authors who fully inhabit the personae of the nineteenth-century correspondents, the letters begin with a timid request from Dickinson to a “sister writer” and end with her death and the concealment of the letters. What is ultimately revealed through a lifetime of dispatches makes their secret correspondence not only plausible but delightfully possible.
266 pages, Paperback
Published May 10, 2022
12 people are currently reading
347 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
January 13, 2026
This was a lovely Epistolary January read. Thank you so much, Jen, for bringing it to my attention! The ending is quite poignant, I thought. From what I know of Louisa and Emily, the authors captured the voices of both so well in their letters. Louisa’s letters are longer and full of energy and humor and raging and processing things about her life. Emily’s are spare and sometimes are nearly a poem, saying little and much at the same time. The framing device of the modern woman who finds this stash of letters was fun. I loved the historical afterward about the shared Massachusetts world of Louisa and Emily with some coincidental almost-meetings where their paths could have crossed but never did. It definitely made me curious to read more about both writers’ lives and especially to read more of Emily’s poetry.
There is a lot of reflection in the letters about what it means to be a writer in the midst of an ordinary life. What and who helps creativity and what and who hinders it? Louisa especially bemoans her fate as a woman. She was forced into a providing role by both parents (but especially her father) and so her life was shaped by this manly role but still with the limits on women at the time. And yet she did have a lot of freedom of movement as a spinster. Very interesting. There was also a mention briefly of Miss Elizabeth Peabody, which was so fun because I am reading a biography of the Peabody sisters now with my friend, Libby.
Very much recommend!
There is a lot of reflection in the letters about what it means to be a writer in the midst of an ordinary life. What and who helps creativity and what and who hinders it? Louisa especially bemoans her fate as a woman. She was forced into a providing role by both parents (but especially her father) and so her life was shaped by this manly role but still with the limits on women at the time. And yet she did have a lot of freedom of movement as a spinster. Very interesting. There was also a mention briefly of Miss Elizabeth Peabody, which was so fun because I am reading a biography of the Peabody sisters now with my friend, Libby.
Very much recommend!
January 22, 2025
What a delightful, hidden gem of a book! This epistolary novel imagines a correspondence and friendship between Louisa May Alcott and Emily Dickinson. Filled with language pulled directly from Alcott and Dickinson’s own writings, this felt authentic and heartfelt.
To be honest, I don’t know as much about either Alcott or Dickinson’s real lives as I would like but this book has prompted me to want to learn more. If you are a fan of either of their work, I can’t recommend this book enough! I am so glad I read it and know I will come back to it again.
To be honest, I don’t know as much about either Alcott or Dickinson’s real lives as I would like but this book has prompted me to want to learn more. If you are a fan of either of their work, I can’t recommend this book enough! I am so glad I read it and know I will come back to it again.
May 31, 2022
I devoured this book in a single afternoon. It was a joy to read--easy, breezy, fanciful, and yet I felt I learned something. The authors had me convinced that Louisa May Alcott and Emily Dickinson were friends after all. The letters from Louisa, in particular, were extremely convincing, so much so that I fell in love with Alcott all over again. A true literary triumph. Well done.
June 30, 2022
Beautifully written, impeccably researched historic fiction! The book captures Alcott’s and Dickinson’s voices, and it makes a plausible case for their friendship. A quick, fun read.
May 20, 2022
This is an extremely clever look at a fictional correspondence between Louisa May Alcott and Emily Dickinson and is probably one of the best-researched historical fictions I've ever read. It is recommended to anyone who is interested in either (or both!) female writers. It includes a lot of names and doesn't fully describe who everyone is so it may not be for everyone, but should be widely accessible to people with at least a basic knowledge of both (like me! I've read "Little Women" and have read a few Dickinson poems/watched "Wild Nights with Emily").
June 7, 2022
I’ll be back to do this right. Damn. This book is so good. Argh. Onto another. Must. Read. All the books and scrolls. So good. Arf!
February 6, 2024
The Bee & The Fly imagines the scenario in which contemporaries Louisa May Alcott and Emily Dickinson actually exchanged letters over many years while keeping their correspondence a secret from those around them. And I…loved it. The authors did *such* a great job identifying the voices of both Louisa and Emily, and doing their due diligence on ways they could have overlapped.
Recommended for you if:
🖊️ you are the target audience for The Tortured Poets Department
❕ you are a sucker for the slightly more obscure punctuation marks, like ampersands and em dashes
✉️ you dream of having a pen pal for life
👯♀️ girl friendship makes your heart soar, especially when there’s just a lot of mutual female empowerment from very different women combating the injustices against them in very different ways
Special shout-out to the staff at The Orchard House for recommending this one!
Recommended for you if:
🖊️ you are the target audience for The Tortured Poets Department
❕ you are a sucker for the slightly more obscure punctuation marks, like ampersands and em dashes
✉️ you dream of having a pen pal for life
👯♀️ girl friendship makes your heart soar, especially when there’s just a lot of mutual female empowerment from very different women combating the injustices against them in very different ways
Special shout-out to the staff at The Orchard House for recommending this one!
May 23, 2022
Improbable, yes, but all-too-convincing. While it is a fiction that Louisa May Alcott and Emily Dickinson corresponded at all (and this book imagines 25 years worth of exchanges), this is a book that will quickly make readers believe their friendship was both real and profound. Truthfully, nothing from either writer's life excludes that they couldn't have been friends, and the historical notes help those who aren't scholars of either understand the reasons why it's so compelling and possible that Alcott and Dickinson may have gotten acquainted. Taking possibilities and spinning an epistolary story from it though, one that shows how these two writers--so very different--manage to impact each other's thoughts and (even) style, is nothing short of a tour-de-force.
June 22, 2022
A very cleverly executed work in which these two famous writers correspond off and on over the years. I found myself wondering several times if these letters were indeed real. I particularly liked Alcott’s letters. A pleasure to read!
December 27, 2022
Fascinating and enchanting. Sadly there was a complete disregard for all the queer evidence and research on the two authors… which is surprising (or not so) with all the digging that went into making this novel…
July 25, 2025
Wonderful. 🐝 🪰
July 26, 2023
I bought this book thinking it was real. Obviously, I neglected the author’s names on the bottom. But a book about the correspondence of one of my favorite authors? I had to have it. I devoured this book in a day. I love books with perspective and the letters to and from made my life. I love how the letters reflected both of their styles. Alcott writing longer letters and Dickinson writing shorter letters and usually including poems at the end. It was so convincing on both ends; it could have been real. You cannot convince me that Alcott and Dickinson didn’t know each other and didn’t correspond in some sense.
I applaud Tosiello and Cavolina for the amount of research that they must have conducted to make this book as good as it was. It was so hard to pick a favorite book but this is one of my all-time favorite books. While not very popular, my goal is to get this book on the map.
I applaud Tosiello and Cavolina for the amount of research that they must have conducted to make this book as good as it was. It was so hard to pick a favorite book but this is one of my all-time favorite books. While not very popular, my goal is to get this book on the map.
July 24, 2024
The premise here is top-tier: long-suspected but never proven communication between two Literary Giants living side-by-side, fully imagined in an epistolary novel steeped in historical detail.
Why 3/5 ⭐️?
A) The letters were short and spread out in time, although this is probably more accurate than device;
B) My worldview and/or preexisting perceptions of the two women didn’t expand or change (maybe I’m just already too educated on this topic, because the annotations in the back are thorough and I fully applaud their research);
C) The plot was less developed in favor of historical accuracy, which I fully support, but also wish to convey the feeling of disconnectedness and lack of engagement (occasionally, as a reader on my part).
Would I recommend? For “nerds” only. But yes.
With less than 500 reviews on Goodreads, this is definitely a book buzzing/flying below the radar ;)
Why 3/5 ⭐️?
A) The letters were short and spread out in time, although this is probably more accurate than device;
B) My worldview and/or preexisting perceptions of the two women didn’t expand or change (maybe I’m just already too educated on this topic, because the annotations in the back are thorough and I fully applaud their research);
C) The plot was less developed in favor of historical accuracy, which I fully support, but also wish to convey the feeling of disconnectedness and lack of engagement (occasionally, as a reader on my part).
Would I recommend? For “nerds” only. But yes.
With less than 500 reviews on Goodreads, this is definitely a book buzzing/flying below the radar ;)
January 27, 2022
3.5 stars? I loved the concept, found it really fun, but wanted just a little bit more.
1.) I wish this was real, and I wish it was more obvious at the beginning that it was fictionalized. I liked the letters themselves, and found it really well done. I know both authors well enough to appreciate the way that these women were represented!
2.) I wish the part at the end where the author makes a case for the fact that these women may have actually been friends/written to each-other and wish it was more prominent!
3.) I did not care for the framing of the letters - it needed to be more developed or not there at all.
1.) I wish this was real, and I wish it was more obvious at the beginning that it was fictionalized. I liked the letters themselves, and found it really well done. I know both authors well enough to appreciate the way that these women were represented!
2.) I wish the part at the end where the author makes a case for the fact that these women may have actually been friends/written to each-other and wish it was more prominent!
3.) I did not care for the framing of the letters - it needed to be more developed or not there at all.
January 16, 2023
An interesting, quick read! I was surprised by how I couldn't put it down. Not sure how someone with more knowledge about LMA, ED and their times would read this book, but for me it was fun to be a fly on the wall to their imagined (or recreated?) friendship.
May 25, 2022
Louisa May Alcott and Emily Dickinson were contemporaries, but two more different women would be difficult to find. Alcott, brought up in an idealistic, Transcendental home, her father concerned more with philosophy than earning a living, was both independent and pragmatic, a prolific writer with many published works, both under her own name and pseudonyms.
Dickinson, from a prominent New England family, also wrote prolifically, but only a handful of her poems were published while she was alive. Thought eccentric by her community, Dickinson shunned any publicity or even human contact outside of letters in her later life. The two women never met, although their social circles overlapped.
In The Bee and the Fly: The Improbable Correspondence of Louisa May Alcott and Emily Dickinson, author Lorraine Tosiello has imagined an exchange of letters between the two women that begins in 1861 and continues to Emily’s death in 1886. Bookended by a plausible prologue and epilogue, outlining how the (fictional) correspondence is found, the letters serve both as a glimpse into the lives of both women, and an account of some of the social and political concerns during the American Civil War and the post-war era.
The contrast between the housebound, timid Emily and the adventurous, strong Louisa begins the relationship, when Emily writes to Louisa for advice and encouragement. But over the course of the letters, similarities begin to appear: their frustrations with the men who act as both mentors and gatekeepers to publishing; the burden of the demands of family; their own declining health.
Misunderstandings, too: Louisa, who pushes herself through her own illnesses to live an active, socially useful life, occasionally expresses irritation at Emily’s withdrawal from any public interaction, but over the years the two women accept their differences and find solace and sisterhood in their commonalities.
Detailed research and strong writing make The Bee and the Fly entirely convincing. The authors have captured both Alcott’s and Dickinson’s distinctive and disparate written voices, a significant achievement. As most of Dickinson’s correspondence was destroyed on her death, her prose style in her letters matches the style of her poetry, with many incomplete sentences punctuated by dashes, expressive but comprehensible. Alcott’s letters and journals were preserved and have been published; her voice here may be the stronger, or perhaps only more familiar to this reviewer.
As with most epistolary novels, I began by reading pairs of letters, then leaving the book for a while, but as the correspondence progressed, I was more and more engrossed, and read continuously. For anyone interested in the lives of these two women whose work has had a profound influence on American literature, I strongly recommend The Bee and the Fly.
Originally Reviewed for Discovering Diamonds
Dickinson, from a prominent New England family, also wrote prolifically, but only a handful of her poems were published while she was alive. Thought eccentric by her community, Dickinson shunned any publicity or even human contact outside of letters in her later life. The two women never met, although their social circles overlapped.
In The Bee and the Fly: The Improbable Correspondence of Louisa May Alcott and Emily Dickinson, author Lorraine Tosiello has imagined an exchange of letters between the two women that begins in 1861 and continues to Emily’s death in 1886. Bookended by a plausible prologue and epilogue, outlining how the (fictional) correspondence is found, the letters serve both as a glimpse into the lives of both women, and an account of some of the social and political concerns during the American Civil War and the post-war era.
The contrast between the housebound, timid Emily and the adventurous, strong Louisa begins the relationship, when Emily writes to Louisa for advice and encouragement. But over the course of the letters, similarities begin to appear: their frustrations with the men who act as both mentors and gatekeepers to publishing; the burden of the demands of family; their own declining health.
Misunderstandings, too: Louisa, who pushes herself through her own illnesses to live an active, socially useful life, occasionally expresses irritation at Emily’s withdrawal from any public interaction, but over the years the two women accept their differences and find solace and sisterhood in their commonalities.
Detailed research and strong writing make The Bee and the Fly entirely convincing. The authors have captured both Alcott’s and Dickinson’s distinctive and disparate written voices, a significant achievement. As most of Dickinson’s correspondence was destroyed on her death, her prose style in her letters matches the style of her poetry, with many incomplete sentences punctuated by dashes, expressive but comprehensible. Alcott’s letters and journals were preserved and have been published; her voice here may be the stronger, or perhaps only more familiar to this reviewer.
As with most epistolary novels, I began by reading pairs of letters, then leaving the book for a while, but as the correspondence progressed, I was more and more engrossed, and read continuously. For anyone interested in the lives of these two women whose work has had a profound influence on American literature, I strongly recommend The Bee and the Fly.
Originally Reviewed for Discovering Diamonds
May 15, 2024
I really wanted to *love* this, as I'm a big fan of both authors but only liked it. It could have been my own expectations falling short. I felt that this story did capture the voices of Alcott and Dickinson, but I guess I was hoping for details about their lives that I didn't already know. Still, worth a read!
Read
November 22, 2022I feel like a fool because I finished this book actually believing these letters were real. 😂 Well, that was disappointing.
March 10, 2024
~3.25
To slightly misquote the Forward Reviews - “An enchanting flight of fantasy.”
To slightly misquote the Forward Reviews - “An enchanting flight of fantasy.”
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews