Overview
Louisa May Alcott never intended to write Little Women. She had dismissed her publisher's pleas for such a novel. Written out of necessity to support her family, the book had an astounding success that changed her life, a life which turned out very differently from that of her beloved heroine Jo March. In Louisa May Alcott, Susan Cheever, the acclaimed author of American Bloomsbury, returns to Concord, Massachusetts, to explore the life of one of its most iconic residents. Based on extensive research, journals, and correspondence, Cheever's biography chronicles all aspects of Alcott's life, from the fateful meeting of her parents to her death, just two days after that of her father. She details Bronson Alcott's stalwart educational vision, which led the Alcotts to relocate each time his progressive teaching went sour; her unsuccessful early attempts at serious literature, including Moods, which Henry James panned; her time as a Civil War nurse, when she contracted pneumonia and was treated with mercury-laden calomel, which would affect her health for the rest of her life; and her vibrant intellectual circle of writers and reformers, idealists who led the charge in support of antislavery, temperance, and women's rights. Alcott's independence defied the conventional wisdom, and her personal choices and literary legacy continue to inspire generations of women. A fan of Little Women from the age of twelve, and a distinguished author in her own right, Cheever brings a unique perspective to Louisa May Alcott's life as a woman, a daughter, and a working writer.
Full Product Details
Author: Susan Cheever
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Imprint: Simon & Schuster
Dimensions:
Width: 13.70cm
, Height: 2.30cm
, Length: 21.10cm
Weight: 0.272kg
ISBN: 9781416569923
ISBN 10: 1416569928
Pages: 320
Publication Date: 08 November 2011
Audience:
General/trade
,
General
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Awaiting stock
The supplier is currently out of stock of this item. It will be ordered for you and placed on backorder. Once it does come back in stock, we will ship it out for you.
Reviews
"""Lively and likable."" -Elaine Showalter, The Washington Post"
Lively and likable. <p> --Elaine Showalter, The Washington Post
Lively and likable. --Elaine Showalter, The Washington Post
Susan Cheever brings the life and art of an iconic American writer to the page with extraordinary sensitivity and insight. This engaging and revealing biography is the perfect companion reader to Louisa May Alcott's novels. --Hilma Wolitzer, author of Summer Reading and Hearts
Author Information
Susan Cheever is the bestselling author of thirteen previous books, including five novels and the memoirs Note Found in a Bottle and Home Before Dark. Her work has been nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Award and won the Boston Globe Winship Medal. She is a Guggenheim Fellow, a member of the Corporation of Yaddo, and a member of the Author's Guild Council. She teaches in the Bennington College M.F.A. program. She lives in New York City with her family.
