Beyond "Little Women"

I'll admit it: As a child, reading Louisa May Alcott's "Little Women," I wanted to be Jo. She was the spirited one, the writer, the one the whole family depended on. Most people are aware that Jo was based on Alcott herself, and the Marches were modeled on the Alcott family. But there was a lot more to the author than her iconic children's stories, as the essays in "Alcott in Her Own Time," edited by Daniel Shealy, make clear.

September 8, 2005

Revealing essays bring Alcott to life

By Lylah M. Alphonse, Globe Staff

Louisa May Alcott is best known for writing classic children's stories, but there was more to the New England author and activist than met the eye. ''Alcott in Her Own Time" is a collection of letters and essays written by people who knew her before, during, and after the success of ''Little Women," offering a detailed look at her life, her family, and what it was like to live in 19th-century Massachusetts. ... [More]