Louisa May Alcott went on to write and sell her stories to newspapers and magazines both as stand-alone items, and also as a series . With the Civil War over, she continued her work on several manuscripts, particularly Little Women. The world is well aware of the myriad copies of this work which has become a national treasure for both men and women alike.
What actually possessed her to pen Little Women, Little Men and her other books I’ll leave to readers of Louisa May Alcott and their imaginations. This book is so well researched that I could not finish the final page without feeling I was there; I walked Louisa's streets in Boston; I shared the crowded, drafty living spaces in so many of her family’s homes; I looked directly at the bloody atrocities she witnessed during the Civil War.
Louisa May Alcott is a gem. Author Harriet Reisen’s narrative intermingles so easily with actual quoted words, phrases, poems, and expressions of Louisa that you forget this is a story about her; rather, it feels as if Louisa has taken charge and is now the author.If you love well-written stories that will leave you feeling that, yes, there really are outstanding people on this earth who follow their dreams in spite of overwhelming odds, Louisa May Alcott is the book for you.I would strongly recommend the book to all readers, particularly men, who like me, might feel this is a woman’s story. WRONG! This is a story about a courageous person who had the intelligence, the guts, and by all means, the talent to edge her way into what, at that time, was a world dominated by men. Her life and her stories I’ll leave for the ages.
Article comments
1 - Harriet Reisen
Thanks for the long and thoughtful piece about Louisa, and so glad you liked my book - it affected you exactly as I had intended.
Take a look at the website louisamayalcott.net for lots of info -- especially about the American Masters film airing on PBS Dec 28th at 9 PM which I also wrote and produced: Directed/Produced by Nancy Porter...
Best,
Harriet
2 - Gordon Hauptfleisch
Indeed Regis - another fine review, and worthy of the special recognition. Thanks again.
3 - Jennifer Bogart
Thanks for the excellent review Regis. Jack and Jill is my six-year-old's favourite all time novel, though we love many of Alcott's works.
4 - Ray Bearden
I just finished readin Mrs. Reisen's book and I enjoyed it very much. I also read the various classic books of Louisa May Alcott at an early age and know them well. Therefore I was startled to discover that on page 238 of the hard-bound text Reisen, in discussing the March family describes Jo as the wife of Professor Bhaer and "the mother of two, like Louisa's sister Anna. Jo's children are girl and boy twins, Daisy and Demi..." This is an error. In the book Meg, not Jo, is the mother of the twins. Jo does have a proprietary interest in all the children, even especially her own kin. In fact, the parallel which Reisen makes between Anna and Meg fails here because of this error. I would assume that others have discovered this error as well.