Biography of renowned American author Louisa May Alcott, who was most known for her Little Women series of novels.
Renowned American author Louisa May Alcott was born Novemeber 29, 1832 in Germantown Pennsylvannia. Her father, Amos Bronson Alcott was a very innovative teacher who spent time with scholars such as Oliver Wendall Holmes, William Ellery Channing and Henry James. Louisa May Alcott was exposed to their philosophical conversations at an early age. She was also influenced by her childhood friends Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry Thoreau.
At an early age she started to feel responsible for financially supporting her mother and three sisters. She did not feel that her father was practical enough to provide for the family's needs. She became a seamstress, a teacher and finally an author. FLOWER FABLES, a collection of fairy stories, was published in 1855.
Before being published again, Alcott volunteered as a Civil War nurse. She came home very ill with typhoid and never fully recovered. From her Civil War experiences she put her own letters home in a novel form and titled them HOSPITAL SKETCHES, which was published in 1863. Next she wrote stories for the Atlantic Monthly. She is best known for her LITTLE WOMEN series.
LITTLE WOMEN was written from 1868 to 1869. It was somewhat autobiographical, with the lead character, Jo, modeled after Alcott. The novel has been translated into over a dozen languages. LITTLE MEN and JO'S BOYS were published in 1871 and 1886, respectively. Her other novels include AN OLD-FAHSINED GIRL - 1870; LITTLE WOMEN PART II - 1869; EIGHT COUSINS - 1874; ROSE IN BLOOM - 1876; UNDER THE LILACS - 1878; JACK & JILL - 1880; A WHISPER IN THE DARK - 1889; AUNT JO'S SCRAP BAG - 1872-82; MOODS - 1865; A MODERN MEPHISTOPHELES - 1877 and WORK - 1873.
Alcott died on May 6, 1888 and is buried on Autor's Hill in Concord, Massachusetts near the graves of authors Nathaniel Hawthrone, Henry Thoreau and R.W. Emerson.
