Scribbles, Sorrows, and Russet Leather Boots

October 1, 2021
A richly detailed account of the life, family, and career of a renowned woman of letters. Though she goes a little overboard in the sound-bite quote department--as biographers of this author are wont to do since the Alcotts and many of their friends were compulsive diarists and letter writers--Rosenberg generally avoids getting bogged down in fussy details. The result is a fresh and free-flowing character study of "a real-life heroine" gifted not only with versatile authorial chops, but a powerful sense of family responsibility and an uncommonly generous spirit. Family tragedies and Alcott's own slow death from (probably) mercury poisoning get full play, but the overall tone is relatively bright; her experiences as a nurse in a Civil War hospital are quickly brushed in as source material for her Hospital Sketches, for example. Her various supposed (but never verified) romantic flings get so much speculative attention that Rosenberg's prim "and in the end it is not our business" is amusingly disingenuous. Likewise, the profitable "gothic and romantic" works, which readers are frequently reminded the subject herself labeled rubbish, are described by Alcott as "gorgeous fancies" on a later page. Still, readers bemused by the contradictions will be no less moved for being entertained. Alcott's progressive views (and a possible family connection with the Underground Railroad) are noted in the narrative. Chapters are prefaced by Sudyka's full-page, na�ve-style illustrations that evoke the historical setting. A grand tale for present fans and future ones, too. (source notes, bibliography) (Biography. 12-15)

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October 15, 2021
Grades 6-9 Best known as the author of Little Women, Louisa May Alcott grew up in Massachusetts. During her happiest years, in Concord, Emerson and Thoreau were neighbors and friends, but her family often experienced poverty and hunger, and they moved frequently. Strong-willed 15-year-old Louisa vowed that she would someday be "rich and famous and happy." This biography traces her path, including detailed accounts of her youthful experiences, her months as a Civil War nurse, her writing career, her travels through Europe, and her role in caring for family members. Each chapter opens with a decorative, full-page illustration in black ink. Young readers coming to the book looking for Jo March's creator may be disappointed that the first 100 pages or so focus more on Alcott's idealistic, emotionally troubled father and her more practical, long-suffering mother than on the writer. Still, Rosenberg's insights into her parents, her sisters, her unconventional upbringing, and the family dynamics are crucial to understanding the woman she became and the decisions she made along the way. An informative, thought-provoking biography.

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