Louisa May Alcott

Louisa May Alcott (1832–1888) was a beloved American novelist, short story writer and poet. Her best-known works include the novels Little Women (1868), Good Wives (1869), and Little Men (1871). The daughter of the transcendentalist Bronson Alcott, Alcott spent most of her life in Boston and Concord, Massachusetts, USA. She volunteered as a nurse when the American Civil War broke out, but was sent back home when she fell severely ill. With the publication of her letters in book form, Hospital Sketches (1863), she earned a reputation as a writer of promise. Alcott’s stories began to appear in The Atlantic Monthly (The Atlantic), and when her family was grappling with financial distress, she wrote the autobiographical Little Women which became an instant success. Based on her memories of her own childhood, this novel paints a vivid and engrossing picture of the domestic affairs of a New England family of modest means.