Louisa May Alcott Facts: Find Out About The Author Of Little Women

Louisa May Alcott was famous for being an American novelist and short-story writer best known for her work, 'Little Women' and its sequel, 'Little Men'.

Abigail May and Amos Bronson Alcott, Louisa's parents, raised her in New England. It was in New England that Alcott grew up among many well-known intellectuals of the day, including Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and Henry David Thoreau.

If you are a fan of books and literature, it's likely that you've read 'Little Women' and it may even be at the top of your list of favorite books. If you love movies, then the film adaptation must have left you mesmerized.

However, it's wise to read this great novel and learn more about its famous author, Louisa May Alcott, before you sit to watch the movie.

Much like her novel's main character Jo March, Alcott wrote to support her family. She published under the androgynous name of A.M Barnard and called her stories 'Blood And Thunder Tales'.

The style was gothic thrillers with names like 'Pauline's Passion And Punishment' and 'A Long Fatal Love Chase'. She then turned autobiographical and produced more family-appropriate material.

While the Alcott family struggled financially and she mainly wrote to support them, she also sought an outlet in writing. She started getting critical acclamation for her stories in 1816.

However, poverty remained a deciding factor in her life well into her later years.

She worked many odd jobs from a very young age to earn money to buy food for her family. From a seamstress to a domestic helper, Alcott worked all sorts of jobs.

She even wrote about this in her first book, 'Flower Fables', written in 1849, which was a selection of fairy tales originally written for Ellen Emerson, Ralph Waldo Emerson's daughter.

In this set of fairy stories, she quoted, "I wish I was rich... good, and we were all a happy family this day", showing that she was driven in life not to be poor.

She also served the country as a nurse in the civil war. However, after her stint as a nurse, she caught a very severe case of pneumonia and typhoid fever.

She received the standard treatment for the ailment of that time, a mercury compound called Calomel. It was this exposure to mercury during her typhoid fever that made her suffer symptoms of mercury poisoning throughout her life. To control the pain caused by mercury poisoning and a condition like lupus, Alcott resorted to taking opioids for pain management.

Louisa May Alcott died aged 55. Alcott died of a stroke.

This article is going to discuss the life, works, and much lesser-known facts about Louisa May Alcott.  

Louisa May Alcott's Relationships

If it was left up to Louisa May Alcott, she would have left the heroine of her novel 'Little Women', Jo March, unmarried. Let's take a look at some interesting facts about Louise May Alcott's relationships.

• She intended to portray the character as a literary spinster. However, she understood pretty clearly that such a novel would not be well received in her day and age. As a result, she wrote Jo to marry her boarding housemate, Professor Bhaer. Alcott wrote to a friend, "I didn't dare to refuse and out of perversity went and made a funny match for her." The second half of the book was published in 1869, which eventually was combined to make one book.
• On the contrary, societal pressure could not make Alcott follow suit. She did not marry all her life and had no children. A decision that was quite explosive during her times when women were ought to marry in order to have a successful life.
• Louisa May Alcott never had any biological children; however, she took the responsibility of raising her orphaned niece, whom she loved dearly. After Abigail May, Alcott's sister, died in 1879, they sent her daughter Louisa, to live her wealthy aunt.
• Louisa being the older sister, took full responsibility for her niece. Louisa was nicknamed Lulu and was named after her aunt. She was loved immensely by her. Alcott wrote a story about her life called Lu Sing.
• After Alcott's death, Louisa's father took her back. Much to her aunt's prediction, Lulu did live happily ever after as it was written in Lu Sing and had a glorious life, living to the ripe old age of 97 years, despite her tumultuous childhood.

Louisa May Alcott's List Of Short Stories

Alcott started writing at a very early age. She was just 19 years old when she published her first written work, which was a set of poems. She believed she was still developing as a writer and thus adopted a pen name. Her first nom de plume was Flora Fairfield.

It was until the age of 22 that Alcott wrote any work attributed to her real name apart from writing about the lives of middle and lower-class women in the 17th century and her stint in writing a gothic pulp fiction under an androgenous' pen name.

A lot of her works were set in the background of the civil war as she served as a civil war nurse during her initial years.

Her kind act of comforting dying soldiers became her muse.

If you enjoyed reading 'Little Women', here's a list of Louisa May Alcott stories that might pique your interest.

• 'Spinning Wheel Stories'
• 'Cosmic Tragedies'
• 'On Picket Duty And Other Tales'
• 'A Laugh And A Look'
• 'Debby's Debut'
• 'Aunt Jo's Scrap Book'
• 'The Brother's Secret'
• 'Morning-Glories And Other Stories'
• Shawl-Straps'
• 'Pauline And Punishment'
• 'Love And Self Love'
• 'A Modern Day Cinderella: Or a Little Old Shoe'
• 'Hospital Sketches'
• 'A Whisper In The Dark'

Was Louisa May Alcott a suffragette?

The Women's Suffragette Movement was a decade-long movement to earn voting rights for women in the United States. Activists took nearly 100 years to win the right to vote. Let's take a look at some facts about Louise May Alcott and her involvement with the suffragette movement.

• Louisa May Alcott was a thorough participant in this movement. She was a suffragette and an abolitionist. The abolitionist movement was aimed at ending slavery worldwide.
• When Massachusetts granted women school, tax, and bond suffrage in 1879, Alcott was the first woman to register in Concord.
• Harriett Hanson Robinson's 'Massachusetts In The Woman Suffrage Movement' was eventually published in 1881 after Louisa May Alcott persuaded her own publisher to publish the book.
• Alcott presented arguments for women's rights and other reforms in her final novel, 'Jo's Boys', written in 1886. "I recall when anti-slavery was exactly where suffrage is now, and I feel more joy in the very modest service we Alcott's could provide than in all the works I ever wrote," she said.

When did Louisa May Alcott write Little Women?

This book was published in a set of two volumes in 1868 and 1869; Alcott wrote the book over several months on the request from her publisher. The novel follows the story of the four sisters of the March family from their childhood and well into adulthood. Let's take a look at some 'Little Women' facts.

• 'Little Women' is regarded as an autobiographical or semi-autobiographical work since it's loosely based on the author's and her three sisters' experiences. In the novel, Jo March was believed to be modeled on Louisa May Alcott.
• In addition, 'Little Women' has several textual and structural references to John Bunyan's novel 'The Pilgrim's Progress.' Several chapter titles directly reference characters and places from 'The Pilgrim's Progress.'
• 'Little Women' was a financial and critical hit right away, with readers eager to learn more about the characters. Alcott immediately finished a second book titled 'Good Wives In The United Kingdom', although the name originated with the publisher and not Alcott. It was also a success. 'Little Women' was published as a single novel in 1880, combining the two volumes.
• 'Little Men' was published in 1871 and 'Jo's Boys' in 1872. Both books are sequels of Alcott's classic novel and include the March sisters.
• The story is supposed to address domesticity, labor, and genuine love, all of them interrelated and crucial to accomplishing its heroine's distinctive identity. According to Sarah Elbert, Alcott established a new type of literature by combining components from many genres.
• Alcott's works were frequently influenced by recognizable motifs. The characters in 'Little Women' are based on members of the author's family and acquaintances, including Meg, the family beauty, who was the oldest of the four sisters. Beth was modeled after Alcott's loving sister, Lizzie. Lizzie, like Beth, was quiet and reserved. She died tragically at 23 from the lingering consequences of scarlet fever, much like Beth.
• Amy was represented as May, Alcott's strong-willed sister, whose pompous affectations lead to her periodic downfalls.
• Alcott took up the role of Jo. Alcott didn't mind if readers called her "Miss March" or "Jo," and she didn't correct them.
• Even if her family inspired it, it could not be denied that Alcott's representation is quite romanticized. Mr. March, for example, is shown as an American Civil War hero, a well-paid chaplain, and, presumably, a source of inspiration for the family's ladies. He is not present much throughout the book. In actuality, Alcott's father served in the Civil War but had a constant presence in the Alcott family home because of his lack of employment. Mr. March was known to be a source of inspiration for his four daughters. However, Alcott's father only brought embarrassment and poverty to Alcott's family and herself.
• Alcott led a fascinating life that is inspirational to many. She made it a point to encourage women to be responsible for their own lives and earnings, and not to depend on men.
• Alcott based 'Little Women' on her life to showcase the hardships that 19th-century women went through.
• When Alcott died, she left behind a great legacy. Today, Alcott's sensational stories and 'Little Women' are a very important part of the English literary canon across the world and help scholars dig deep into the lives and psyche of 19th-century women.
• From a seamstress and a civil war nurse to one of the most celebrated authors of her time, she is known to be one of the greatest inspirations of will and passion for people today.
• Alcott's legendry writing desk still rests in Orchard House. Alcott's writing desk was a white half-moon table, the very place where she wrote her most famous novel, 'Little Women'.
• Orchard House is a museum that showcases all her belongings and the belongings of her sister Abigail Alcott, who was a famous American artist. Orchard House is furnished with all the belongings that were dearest to the two sisters. Near to the house is Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, the final resting place of the Alcott's and their literary neighbors and family friends Henry David Thoreau, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Ralph Waldo Emerson. She also received instruction from these writers, especially Nathaniel Hawthorne.