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Last edited by Tom Morris
September 25, 2023 | History
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Louisa May Alcott

29 November 1832 - 6 March 1888

Louisa May Alcott was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania on November 29, 1832. She and her three sisters, Anna, Elizabeth, and May, were educated by their father, philosopher and teacher Bronson Alcott, and raised on the practical Christianity of their mother, Abigail May.

Louisa spent her childhood in Boston and in Concord, Massachusetts, where her days were enlightened by visits to Ralph Waldo Emerson’s library, excursions into nature with Henry David Thoreau, and theatricals in the barn at "Hillside".

Like her character, "Jo March" in Little Women, young Louisa was a tomboy. "No boy could be my friend till I had beaten him in a race," she claimed, "and no girl if she refused to climb trees, leap fences ..."

For Louisa, writing was an early passion. She had a rich imagination and often her stories became melodramas that she and her sisters would act out for friends. Louisa preferred to play the "lurid" parts in these plays --"the villains, ghosts, bandits, and disdainful queens."

At age 15, troubled by the poverty that plagued her family, she vowed: "I will do something by and by. Don’t care what, teach, sew, act, write -- anything to help the family; and I’ll be rich and famous and happy before I die, see if I won’t!"

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  • Cover of: Transcendental wild oats and excerpts from the Fruitlands diary

    First published in 1975 4 editions in 1 language — 1 previewable
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  • Cover of: Marjorie's three gifts

    First published in 1899 4 editions in 1 language — 2 previewable Cover of edition marjoriesthreegi00alco
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  • Cover of: Words of Ages: Witnessing U.S. History Through Literature

    First published in 2000 4 editions in 1 language — 2 previewable Cover of edition wordsofageswitne0000nath
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  • Cover of: The journals of Louisa May Alcott

    First published in 1989 3 editions in 1 language — 1 previewable
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  • Cover of: The candy country

    First published in 1900 3 editions in 1 language — 3 previewable Cover of edition candycountry00alco Cover of edition candycountry00alcogoog
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  • Cover of: The Quiet Little Woman: A Christmas Story

    First published in 1999 3 editions in 1 language — 1 previewable
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  • Cover of: The Evil Image: two centuries of Gothic short fiction and poetry

    First published in 1981 3 editions in 1 language — 1 previewable
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  • Cover of: Little women abroad: the Alcott sisters' letters from Europe, 1870-1871

    First published in 2008 3 editions in 1 language — 1 previewable
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  • Cover of: The lost stories of Louisa May Alcott

    First published in 1995 3 editions in 1 language — 1 previewable
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  • Cover of: Reader's Digest Best Loved Books for Young Readers: Volume Six

    First published in 1967 3 editions in 1 language — 3 previewable Cover of edition readersdigestbes06alco Cover of edition readersdigestbes00alco
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  • Cover of: The girlhood diary of Louisa May Alcott, 1843-1846: writings of a young author

    First published in 2000 2 editions in 1 language — 1 previewable
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  • Cover of: A Louisa May Alcott Christmas Book and Charm: Selected Holiday Stories and Poems (Charming Classics)

    First published in 2004 2 editions in 1 language — 1 previewable
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  • Cover of: Poppies and wheat.

    First published in 1887 2 editions in 1 language — 1 previewable
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  • Cover of: Pansies and water-lilies

    First published in 1902 2 editions in 1 language — 1 previewable
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  • Cover of: Little Button Rose

    First published in 1901 2 editions in 1 language — 1 previewable
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  • Cover of: The best of Louisa May Alcott

    First published in 1994 2 editions in 1 language — 1 previewable
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  • Cover of: The selected letters of Louisa May Alcott

    First published in 1987 2 editions in 1 language — 1 previewable
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  • Cover of: Three unpublished poems

    First published in 1919 2 editions in 1 language — 1 previewable
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  • Cover of: Kate's choice: What love can do ; Gwen's adventure in the snow : three fire-side stories to warm the heart

    First published in 2001 2 editions in 1 language — 2 previewable Cover of edition unset0000unse_n8n3
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  • Cover of: A whisper in the dark: twelve thrilling tales

    First published in 1996 2 editions in 1 language — 1 previewable
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Photo of Louisa May Alcott
Subjects
Fiction, Children's fiction, Juvenile fiction, American fiction (fictional works by one author), Fiction, general, History, Social life and customs, Women, Young women, Classic Literature, Conduct of life, Families, New england, fiction, American literature, Fiction, historical, general, Fiction, short stories (single author), Family, Family life, Short stories, Children's stories, American, Juvenile literature, Sex role, Sisters, Family life, fiction, Man-woman relationships
Places
New England, United States, Massachusetts, Nouvelle-Angleterre, Salem Village, Alabama, England, Europe, Owl Creek Bridge, 221B Baker Street, Alpha Inn, Boston (Mass.), British Museum, Brixton, Chênière Caminada, Concord, Concord (Mass.), Covent Garden, Dayton (Ohio), Egypt, European Union countries, Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Grand Isle, Gulf of Mexico, Jefferson
People
Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888), Devil, Ethelred, Faith Brown, Goodman Brown, Goody Cloyse, Madeline Usher, Roderick Usher, Peyton Farquhar, Adèle Ratignolle, Alcée Arobin, Alphonse Ratignolle, Amanda Wingfield, Amos Bronson Alcott (1799-1888), Amy March, Baker Street Irregulars, Bartleby, Beaudelet, Beth March, Breckinridge, C. Auguste Dupin, Catherine Cusack, Cicero, Colonel Sartoris, Countess of Morcar
Time
19th century, Civil War, 1861-1865, 1600s, 1861-1865, American Civil War, Civil War, Siglo XIX, 1783-1865, 1861-65, 1868-, 19e siècle, 20e siècle, 20th century, Antebellum era, Jin dai ., Jindai, carnival

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Alternative names

  • M. Louisa Alcott
  • Louisa M. Alcott
  • Louisa Mae Alcott
  • Alcott, Louisa May, 1832-1888.
  • Alcott,Louisa May オルコット,ルイーザ・メイ (1832-1888)
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  • Alcott. Louisa May. 1832-1888.

History

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September 25, 2023 Edited by Tom Morris merge authors
July 1, 2022 Edited by AgentSapphire merge authors
July 1, 2022 Edited by AgentSapphire merge authors
July 1, 2022 Edited by AgentSapphire merge authors
April 1, 2008 Created by an anonymous user initial import